Indeed. The USA system is much more expensive, both overall as a percentage of GDP and in terms of cost to individual patients. It's an example of what to avoid.
This issue is rather like prescription charges. Since prescriptions are free for children, pregnant women, the elderly (includes me), hospital in-patients, etc the upshot is that only a minority of prescriptions are paid for. Plus if there is a charge for GP appointments, but not for hospital A&E, more patients would be pushed towards A&E. Unless there is a charge for A&E as well ... How far down that slope do you want to slide? Politically, any party which moves in that direction is likely to lose a lot of votes ("Save Our NHS!").
It is due to the cost of the insurance premiums that the doctors have to pay to keep the lawyers in the style to which they have become accustomed :wink:
Politically you are probably right but when anything is 'free' it is not valued and or taken for granted. On the rare occasions that I phone for an appointment I am asked "Is it an emergency" and I reply "No, if it was I would go to A&E", I am then offered an appointment in two weeks time In which time I am either better or potentially dead. Anecdotally it would seem that 3 out of 4 people visiting the doctor would be better just taking some paracetamol and staying at home a few days. The long term low grade ills that afflict our population are mainly a combination of genetic predisposition and poor life choices. I would withdraw the use of antibiotics and steroids from the over 60's. No, hang on, wait a minute, make that the over 70's.
Personally, I favour the German insurance scheme, which sets aside a proportion of the premium to help people who can't pay for themselves. The is no NI contribution and taxes are not required to fund the scheme. It's a system that doesn't reward waste.
I like it how it is. The only thing I would change is if you can't afford it you don't get it. No state system!! Let natural selection take its course. The survival of the fittest. I have every right to express this opinion. I am successfully and financially solvent due to my hard work a determination. Where the fuck were these people with there forthright views when I was being raped and forced to take he roun whilst in local authority care. Where were you then to be counted and to help and to put your views across????? Society can go and do one and I have no desire to assist any fucktard low life benifits seeking idiot. Greed is so good and I love every second of every penny I earn. My only regret is I have to give some of it up for some council estate shit
Are you saying that in Germany there is a state run insurance scheme with premiums going directly to the healthcare providers, unlike our NI tax which goes into the general pot ?
Good rant and well written however without SOLIDARITY you are simply another individual shouting in a vacuum . I agree with finm most people are sheep and follow till they die. It would be naive to think that country's are run by stand up democratically elected representatives of the people Banks and Business they are our Lords and Masters always have been.
Or rather : It is due to the cost of paying out the medical negligence claims which patients make at the drop of a hat. USA is an excessively litigious society, but at least the compensation does go to medical patients who have suffered harm. It is a great exaggeration to imply that all the money goes to lawyers.
I think he is. I've also heard that in Holland you can opt out of paying for state dental care as long as you accept responsibility for funding your own. Now I think that dentistry could be a good place to start reforming the NHS properly. NHS dental care is too far gone to allow us to return to some rose-tinted bygone era, and (as someone who has several times had to switch from NHS to private due to my dentist changing his arrangements) I would like HMG to give me a voucher towards my dental care (representing my "fair share" - which I am sure I have paid in) so that I can spend it where I choose, supplementing it if I so wish with my own hard-earned cash (it's up to me if I want to have cosmetic work, implants etc, which I don't at present). One of the bad things about NI is that many still seem to hark back to a 50 years ago when it was more directly something to do with healthcare. Gordon Brown tried to resurrect that idea by raising NI and saying that the proceeds of the rise would be for the NHS (as a result there is some ring-fencing of part of the NI fund, which I think provides about 1/6 of the NHS budget if that). But NI doesn't really pay for healthcare, in the sense that most of it does go into a sort of general "pot" for certain "contributory" benefits like state pension. But of course paying NI has nothing to do with earning any right to healthcare - in fact paying NI only has a limited effect on rights to benefits because the welfare system has been so complicated by the addition of extra means-tested benefits, tax credits, etc, and many people (and I'm not saying this is necessarily wrong) are given "NI credits" without having paid.
Troy, I don't agree with all of your views, but I have a great deal of empathy with you. Well done on keeping going and making something of your life. I am more than happy to help those willing to help themselves, I am also happy to help those who are unable to help themselves. As for those who expect everything to come to them for nothing, I have no energy to waste on them.
