The National Health Service

[Bogstandard]

Sixty years ago today the UK introduced the national health service.

Free medical treatment for young or old, rich or poor.

If you can afford the medication prescription you pay a standard low price charge for each item (currently just less than £7 ($14)). Children still in education, over 60's, unemployed and certain medical groups get free medication, glasses, dental treatment plus lots of other bits and pieces.

In the event of you needing it, free ambulance and A & E treatment, and a full backup system after that. Free maternity, plus anything else you can think of.

People moan that the system is too slow and inefficient.

All I can say is, try the alternative, if you can afford it.

In the last four years, I have had more x-rays than I care to remember, a CAT scan, ultrasound scans, two put you to sleep operations, full physio backup and seeing an orthopaedic specialist every three months. I can see my own doctor whenever I need to, if needs be, within an hour or so, if I was too ill to go, he will come to me. Plus ALL medication for my other ailments as well, free six monthly dental checkups and all treatment, free eye examinations and glasses.

Cost to me, NOTHING, except for the transportation costs, and if I really pushed it I could get those back as well.

This all comes out of National Insurance payments that you have made whilst working.

Is it the envy of the world? You betcha.
Does it get the job done? In most cases, yes.
Would I personally like to go back to the old pay as you get sick ways? No way.

One very satisfied customer.

John

 

[tel]

Agreed John, our version (Medicare) does pretty much likewise. Quadruple by-pass 5 years ago, and the follow up treatment since has not cost me a cracker. A friend, who had similar a month or so before me let on that he was privately insured and the 'gap' cost him several thousand, I shudder to think what the full cost would be.

 

[Circlip]

Yes, the initial concept was very good John, It's just a pity that the system has been allowed to be abused. It's also a pity that some of the takers have never been givers.
Regards Ian.

 

[hitandmissman]

National insurance is sure something the U
















National insurance is sure something I wish the USA had. I am one of the million or so in the US with no health insurance, just praying nothing drastic happens. On disability and just got medicare, which I am told covers almost nothing. Wear glasses(have a cateract in one eye), supposed to have two hearing aids(one broke), two bad rotator cups in shoulders(the disability). But still trying to do a little machine work. More reading about the great things you guys make and do than makin something but hope to change that in the future.

 

[zeusrekning]

John, I am very glad you posted this. I have always wanted to know what people in countries with a national health program felt about it. This is one of the few things about the gov. I dislike on this side of the pond. Everything is either black/white, left/right, up or down. My views seem to be right down the middle. I don't like the idea of another system that I'll pay into and others will take advantage of, but I compare it to public education. Yes, it sucks, sucks a lot I think, But if we didn't have it I would have no education and my kids would have a poor one at best, b/c me nor my parents could afford it. Same as with health care. The health of the family up the street is my concern the health of the elderly woman behind me at the grocery store is my concern. As our population increases it gets worse.
I admit to having alot of ignorance on this subject so again thanks for giving at least one point of view. But you just wait, eventually we'll have a health care system. We'll really show you how to f#@K it up :big:
Tim

 

[Bogstandard]

I am not saying the system we have is perfect, but in basic form it works, and has done for the last 60 years.

The main problems has been the funding of it, the high charges that drug companies charge for their specialist drugs, lack of nurses and the correct staff, mainly caused by bean counter trust managers trying to cut costs in critical areas to meet government targets. We have the beds, but not enough people to look after the patients. So for non critical operations, there is a waiting list.

If I have an accident, or I am sick, then I will get treated straight away, to a stage where I am as well as possible. No one is turned away for lack of insurance. There have been a few cases where people won't be treated because of the expense of the drugs (usually in the many ten of thousands of pounds costs for a course of treatment), but on appeal and publicity this decision has usually been overturned.

So it does work rather well, the real needy are treated straight away, once you have your non critical operation and into the system, you get the full works from then on.
It took me about six months to get to the stage of being put down for an operation, before that, no-intrusion methods were tried, but since then I have had the full course and it will carry on until a specialist tells me that that is the best that can be done, so I am into my fourth year of treatment. The waiting time is caused by seeing if the previous treatment has worked.

John

 

[Loose nut]

We have a similar system in Canada although it varies by province, how much I don't know, but it has the same plus's and minus's as in Britian.

My wife , who is American, has been chronically ill for the last 30 + years, living most of that time in Canada, cannot move back to the US even if she wanted to, because no insurance company would touch her and health care would be completely unaffordable for us. The level of health care available in the US is the best in the world, if you have the money. At a time when we were living there 30 years ago , just after we were married, it took my whole pay check one month for medical expense, I don't know how people get along there these days.

 

[zeusrekning]

That is right loosenut. Insurance for my two kids is approx $250 month then the wife would be another couple hundered a month. Mine is paid for through work but if it wasn't :wall: :wall: :wall: Sad thing is I never go to the doc. With the cost of everthing going up and wages are not b/c of the companies allready having hard times adjusting to increasing cost on there ends Out look not so good

 

[jhumphre]

I am not saying the system we have is perfect, but in basic form it works, and has done for the last 60 years.

The main problems has been the funding of it, the high charges that drug companies charge for their specialist drugs, lack of nurses and the correct staff, mainly caused by bean counter trust managers trying to cut costs in critical areas to meet government targets. We have the beds, but not enough people to look after the patients. So for non critical operations, there is a waiting list.

And here in lies the future of any health care system which is offered as a "free" service to its citizens. Nothing is free. Costs can only be regulated so far before the regulation stifles ambition, and the economy's tolarance of tax rates to pay for all the services will alway's be fixed at a certain level, the only place to cut costs will be wages offered and services provided, to the detriment of all within the system, excepting the rich, which can afford services regardless of cost. The US system needs an overhaul for sure, but any system put in place which lacks an emphisis on personal responsibility, in either out of pocket cost or some other motivator, will eventually result in lower service's available for everyone.

I tend to believe that somewhere in the middle ground lies a more palatable answer. Possibly a publicly funded, mandatory, insurance system made available to all people with out private insurance provided by their employer. This insurance would require, mandatory copayments based on income level, similar to the current Medicare/Medicade system, and would allow secondary insurance providers to offer stop gap or supplemental coverages. Stop cost shifting from non insured to insured persons by health care facilities. Stop applying fees to insurance providers to fund public health care programs. Most importantly, this system should be a line item in State and Federal budgets so we the people can assess its cost. Something along these lines should ensure basic health care is avaialble to all. Just my $.02 on this subject.

 

[Stan]

When the medicare system was started in Canada, it was a different world than today. The patient went to his family doctor and was prescribed two aspirin and the government paid the doctor $12.00. The big cost to the system was for catastrophic illness or injury.

Thirty years later, when you go to your family doctor, he orders expensive, high tech tests, gives you a prescription for expensive drugs and puts you on the waiting list for an appointment with one or more specialists.

The net result has been medicare costs rising at 20% a year while GNP and inflation have been 2% a year. Even the politicians realize that this is not sustainable. The only control that they have is to reduce service by having fewer specialists available and not buying the latest high tech diagnostic equipment.

When you include the human fraility of some people taking all they can get of anything that is free you have some people in desperate need of care who are on waiting lists until they die or their symptoms have progressed to where they are untreatable.

Current senior citizens (myself included) have benefited greatly with this system, but at some point major changes have to be made. In some Canadian provinces, 30% of total tax revenue goes to finance medicare.

To clear up any misunderstanding of the Canadian system: The basic principles are mandated by the Federal Government but the administration is Provincial, so the system varies somewhat across the country.