Health Plan

Debbie · August 2009

Hey I was wondering, The U.S. is wanting to make health care for everyone. You guys have a similar health plan there dont you? Do you like it. I dont know if I will like it. There is alot of debate about it here in the U. S. Are there good benefits from it?

Glyn · August 2009

Hmmm... impossible to cover the subject as a whole but I would guess that most people's on here reaction would be:

1. The NHS could be better and we all occasionally complain about it.
2. At one time or another we've probably all been thankful for the fact that everyone can have decent healthcare free at the point of delivery.
3. 46m U.S. citizens uninsured seems pretty scandalous from where I'm sitting.
4. Never believe anything a Republican says, especially if they talk about "Death Panels" - that sort of talk will upset a lot of people here.

Debbie · August 2009

yeah that many people not having insurance is just horrible. But I am upset that ones that have Hep c or older that is dyong and needs a new liver or heart, that need and organ replacement they will not cover them. This world is going downhill in some things.

bennyfromtheblok · August 2009

There are lots of goods and bads about the UK's Social Services but most people are very much in favour and proud of the NHS. If anything, people get frustrated at the lack of or misuse of funds within the service and wish that the waiting lists were shorter, hospitals were better staffed etc etc.
We still have a 2 tier system with many people paying for insurance themselves or it being provided by an employer. This is very handy if you work and you need to be seen in certain hours and need it done quickly. Usually it is the same doctor as you would see on the NHS, just they do private work also.
All in all, the NHS is an excellent idea and the service works well....we do moan because it could be better.

ADGS · August 2009

My favourite bit of the recent Republican scare tactics was the suggestion that "People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the NHS would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless." Whether deliberate lie or just crass stupidity, it said it all about the merits of their argument.

underscore_cue · August 2009

I work in the system. I think it was an extremely noble idea and I massively admire Bevan, Beveridge and Attlee for making it happen -- some older patients can remember a time before the NHS when a visit to the doctor was a luxury for many families and if someone had a wound you would ask around what the doctor did last time one of your family/neighbours had the same complaint and then try and do the same thing yourself. Many of the older people in this part of london grew up in Ireland where there is no NHS and subsidised health care is a more recent innovation than in the UK, and some have told me that to save money people would go to the 'stable hand' to dress wounds and ulcers because he would have the dressings to use on horses and this was cheaper than paying to see the doctor. Def having the system in place has prevented a huge amount of personal suffering and misery. Having said all that, with the number of oldies going up compared to the number of young tax payers, along with the newest treatments being more and more pricey the system probably will be in trouble in the next decade or two and we'll see some sort of forced health insurance for those that can afford it. Chatting to people who remember the NHS starting puts things into perspective, many of the bus routes we take today are older than the NHS, and could still be running when the system goes under.... By the way I suspect Debbie is someone a bit closer to us than she claims.... Can you confirm your story, perhaps a picture of todays local paper in salt lake city with an item we specify. That would be enough to make me beleive..

David · August 2009

When you login to this site, the vanilla system automatically takes a record of your ip address. This is common practice to stop spam attacks - ie, multiple posts from the same place inside a few seconds. Debbie's is indeed on the east side of Salt Lake City. Some of you are quite the conspiracy theorists, eh?

rainbow_carnage · August 2009

I love the NHS, but I'm not sure I would use it as a model for building a nationalised system. There are lots of issues.

Like many government programmes, the NHS favours the educated middle classes. When we lived in Stokey, we tried two local GP practices. The first one was so bad that we actually had to threaten the doctor to get any tests done. In the end, we walked into an A&E, where they recognised the potential severity of the condition and did a CT scan straight away.

The second practice was almost as bad. You had to wait an hour and a half to see the doctor, even though you had made an appointment. The waiting room was dirty and unpleasant.

Like other middle class people, we did a bit of research and now have a fantastic doctor. We never have to wait for an appointment or argue over a referral. We're not even in the catchment area, really, but they're still happy to treat us.

But even a good GP, we still have to wait forever to see a specialist. I waited 18 months to see a neurologist, 6 months for a cardiologist. That's ridiculous. Of course, the wait gets shorter as you condition deteriorates, but surely it's better to get it checked out before it gets that serious.

Having said all this, I would never trade it for the current US system. Unaesthetic and I are self-employed. That means no health insurance. It's probably the biggest obstacle that keeps us from moving to New York.

underscore_cue · August 2009

@David - good enough for me, I just have a suspicious mind - and I wasn't sure anyone would write "yall" unless they were imitating a yank, but you live and you learn! @Debbie - sorry for doubting you! Incidentally I think its great that Obama is trying to sort out the outrageous situation in the US where there is a hideous ugly dividing line between the ones who can afford to be insured and those who can't. I'm proud of the fact that if you really need it, our system will fix you up without ever asking you if you're able to pay or are insured. I doubt that he's going to succeed in introducing universal healthcare, the insurance co's have got too much power and influence. Lets hope I'm wrong.

bennyfromtheblok · August 2009

I spoke to a bunch of my friends about this down the pub last night. None of us have kids and most are in the 40% tax bracket and we all said we don't mind one bit our taxes paying for the NHS and the pensions.
Having been in hospital for 8 weeks once, you know how hard most of the people work. The problem is, on the ground Hospitals and clinics are not run by professionals, but by Doctors and Nurses. I thought at the time it would be great to have proper managers there so the staff can get on with helping people. I hate to think how much time and money is wasted in the health service.

ShaunG · August 2009

@benny - I salute you for taking the standard moan about the NHS and turning it right on its head. The received wisdom from most people down the pub is that everything would be dandy if the doctors and nurses could be left in charge, and it's these awful managers who waste so much and mess it all up. I'm much more sympathetic to your version. Also, this idea that "the world is going downhill" is I think highly suspect when it comes to healthcare - in just about all disease areas, standards of care and available treatments are way better than in the past (and I'd expect that to be true in the US just as much as here). Naturally, we object when things could be better, but that doesn't mean they're worse than they used to be.

Debbie · August 2009

I have read all what yall have said...and I hope if they do pass the insurance program that it works out. I am not against it, but I am just worried for the ones that will not be covered under it, but happy for ones that do not have insurance and that need it. Yall seem pretty happy with your system so maye this one will work. Thanx for the input.

Yes I am real. Yes I live around the Salt Lake area. Been here for 10 yrs. Was raised in the south...Texas so I have a very heavy southern accent..hence why I like accents and love yalls. I am neither republican or democrat....I dont vote..so I am sure that will piss some of you off...but just dont. I am not Matties or whatever tosscat said...I am just someone who likes to get to know other people and thier ways. I appreciate you guys visiting with me. I dont get the Salt Lake paper to show you I get a little paper that comes out once a week from this little one horse town...lol...but is nice here cause it isnt busy and chaotic like some places. I have been to Europe once. Went to Paris and Germany...really loved Paris. I wanted to ride the fast train the rail train that connects to London and France but didnt get a chance. Well anyway.

Thank-you David for your comment. I have a facebook acc. if you want to check it out........I will put it in my about me area

Deb

Glyn · August 2009

I don't quite understand the point about "those who will not be covered by it" - the proposal in the U.S. is for universal health care - not necessarily along the same lines as the NHS, but everyone would be covered.

Difficult to understand not taking sides in U.S. politics from an outside perspective (you can probably guess which side the whole world is on), but then I am a woolly liberal.

unaesthetic · August 2009

what is really scary in the US debate is the people at town hall meetings practically sobbing as they say that 'their country' is being 'torn apart' or 'broken up piece by piece' or somesuch. either these individuals are on the payroll of the insurance companies - and are genuinely upset that their bosses' profit margins may be eaten away at by healthcare reform - or they have so little comprehension of what is actually being discussed that they shouldn't be allowed out of their own homes unsupervised, unless they have a license to carry retardedly stupid.

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