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elliemae
2010 Mar 27, 12:40pm
People use the most extreme examples to make their points about the ills of the NHS.
The problem that we have in the US is that we're polarized, and the media loves the story. Political grandstanding, etc has made this into a huge ordeal. I dare say that, if England was transitioning from private for profit to the NHS right now, they'd have some of the same problems. Change is difficult, especially with all the drama.
elliemae
2010 Mar 28, 12:49am
Yea - it's different when it's your child or your parent being denied treatment. All reason goes out the window.
mikey
2010 Mar 28, 3:56am
The profit motive is a play here. If I own stock in highly profitable healthcare companies to increase my personal wealth, retirement, etc, then the status quo is worth fighting for, regardless of who it hurts, it seems.
On the flip side, a totally government run health care system would be like Jerry Lewis in a china shop.
Moral: Learn to take care of your own health as much as possible, eat right, exercise, and brush after every meal and stay in school. And for crying out loud, stop watching Jerry Lewis movies.
And you guys out there might want to consider wearing a condom when masturbating, just to be extra safe. I mean, it may sound silly, but why take chances?
elliemae
2010 Mar 28, 4:49am
And you guys out there might want to consider wearing a condom when masturbating, just to be extra safe.
With the economy the way it is, you might want to save money every way possible. For instance, when you've used a condom, you can turn it inside-out and use it again. Every little bit helps.
The profit motive is a play here.
exactly.
I was recently in the UK for 3 weeks on travel for work. One night my son was crying because of pain and buzzing in his ear. The next day at 10am, my wife walked to a medical office that was around the corner from where we were staying. The staff was very nice. My wife fully disclosed to the staff that we were visitors, and not paying into the National Health System (NHS). They made a same day appointment for us, at 3:20p. My wife returned with my son at 3:20p, waited 25 minutes and saw the doctor. The doctor was also very nice. She checked out my son and confirmed what we thought, it was an ear infection. She prescribed an antibiotic. This visit was free of charge. My wife then walked two blocks to a pharmacy and picked up the prescription, also free of charge. My son's ear infection went away in a few days.
We were staying with friends and found out from them, in addition to the NHS, one can purchase private health insurance to 'avoid the queue'. Our friends aren't rich, yet they can afford private health insurance. My guess is their household income is less than my family's. However, to upgrade my insurance from Kaiser would have cost me >$600/month. I could pay this without going into to debt, but barely.
People in the UK don't seem to be dying from common diseases. Nor did I hear one, not one, complaint about the NHS. Nor did I see people walking around with polio related disabilities or similar ailments.
So, this is the "horrible" socialized health care system?
And what is wrong with this model? Is the UK being bankrupt by the NHS? Really? My guess is that the US is too large and diverse to do this. It would be better left to the states.