It's something that's painful and infuriating to me in my own experience, and thus something I feel very strongly about: people getting denied tests and treatment because of long line-ups of patients and limited resources.

It happens all the time in countries where healthcare is public, though we don't always hear about it. But here's one instance where we do: thousands of women are being denied breast exams in Oxfordshire, UK, because of staffing shortages. Women there between 50 and 70 are rightly entitles to a screening every 6 months but the NHS can't keep up with the demand and is turning women away. This has outraged cancer specialists and survivors, though they can't do much about it at this point.

Say what you will about the importance of public healthcare, but when things like this are happening, it should be a rather large indicator that it's just not working. My dad couldn't get screened for cancer until a couple of weeks before he passed away, and by then, obviously, it was too late.

A recent study based on data collected by the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey shows that women with subsidized health plans, women who are elderly, and women who do not regularly visit an obstetrician and gynecologist are less likely than others to get a clinical breast exam and a recommendation for a mammogram.

The research reviewed records from 1996 to 2004, and focused exclusively on women 40 and older. It was discovered that women who see an ob-gyn for a routine exam were far more likely to receive a clinical breast exam than women who visited only with any other kind of physician. Also, ob-gyns were 13 times more likely to recommend that their patients undergo a mammogram.

It was also found that women who had public health insurance were up to 30% less likely to receive a clinical breast exam. Furthermore, women with public health insurance were 55% less likely to receive a recommendation for a mammogram by their doctor. Is there some sort of strange bias going on here? Or snobbery? Or perhaps a blatant example of the problems with our Medicare and Medicaid system in this country? You tell me, because I'm still a bit shocked to be certain how to feel about this information.