IN MANY ways, life was easier in my parents' day. When I was a child, our neighbour Mr Chan used to say: 'I don't have time to get sick.' Good old Mr Chan never took sick leave in his life and worked until the day he died.
Nowadays, Hong Kong people are more affluent and hence more health-conscious. As the Chinese saying goes: 'More money; more medical problems.' When you do not have to worry about a roof over your head and food on the table, you will worry about not living long enough to enjoy life.
I am lucky in that I have never had any serious medical problems (probably because I have never had any serious money). But I do have a few minor problems that I should have taken care of, but have been putting off because of work.
Now that I am retired, I have, in Mr Chan's words, 'time to get sick'. After years of neglect, I want to do some repair work to my body. I have decided to take care of my eyes first, in case I go blind before I can take care of the rest of my body.
Who shall I go to? I have three choices: a hotshot doctor in a private practice, the Hospital Authority, or the medical insurance plan from my wife's employer.
I like Dr Hotshot a lot. His impressive credentials and photos of him rubbing shoulders with dignitaries and movie stars are hung all over his office walls. He is the best doctor money can buy - and he would have been my first choice but for the money.
It looks unlikely that my wife's insurance will cover my particular problem, so I decide to take advantage of the fact that I am a taxpayer, and make use of the medical service funded by my tax dollars.