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Nobody paid Medicare taxes before 1966. (By the way my ACA premium is $960/month and I have been paying Medicare taxes for 46 years-can’t wait to turn 65!)
Firstly no one is being denied life saving treatment, and a diet for those who are obese is encouraged before any operation in relation to medical reasons, and the same is true of smoking. So the article is well over the top, especially given all the small print on an average insurance document. The sad truth being that US patients often have insurance companies refuse them treatments.
The American Doctor quoted below has worked in both systems, he did find St Mary's in London quite old however at the time St Mary's was supposed to have been moving to a state of trhe art new hospital at Paddington Basin. The move fell through due to landlord and contractural problems, however St Mary's is now in the process of rebuilding the hospital.
Originally Posted by US Doctor who studied in the UK
The National Health Service of the U.K. is free at the point of service: While hospitals get money from the government for care, there is never any discussion with patients about the cost of their care. I am experiencing for the first time as a doctor the insurance cards, the billing department and questions of insured versus not insured. It has been a sobering experience.
I was saddened by a diabetic patient who stopped taking her insulin because she could not afford it. In the U.K., that just doesn't happen. Other times, I get angry, like when I heard about a patient who was scheduled to be transferred to another hospital — until administrators at the receiving hospital changed their minds, saying they didn't accept the patient's insurance.
But I'm truly shocked and heartbroken by the opioid abuse that has become a slow-motion national disaster across the U.S. It was difficult for me to imagine in the U.K., even as I read about its sad evolution. Every country has its vices; in the U.K., alcohol is the drug of choice and I have seen its damaging consequences. Yet I was unprepared for the extent that the undercurrent of heroin and other opioids have affected medicine.
It is the single payer systems of England and Canada that causes the very wealthy to fly to America to get treatment at the Cleveland Clinic while the masses stay home and die.
Single payer is great if you are healthy.
You have the choice of going private in the UK, there are private hospitals and you can take out health insurance if you so wish, and there are even US Companies such as HCA operating in the UK. There are also some of the best specialists in the world in relation to London's Harley Street, and many top NHS Hospitals take private patients from across the world.
I'm 70 years old, stand 5'-9" tall (I used to be 5'-10 1/2" but shrinkage happens over time) and weigh in at 205 lbs giving me a BMI of 30.3. If something happened to me under their system I would be refused care even if I never smoked? Somehow this feels good and right to you?
It is the single payer systems of England and Canada that causes the very wealthy to fly to America to get treatment at the Cleveland Clinic while the masses stay home and die.
Single payer is great if you are healthy.
Clue: There is no free lunch. Free health care doesn't exist anywhere in the world except in places where there isn't any health care.
Being over 65 I have Medicare but it isn't free either. For my Part B I pay $134.00 monthly while my supplement runs another $139.54 and then there is Part D for pharmacy that runs me $27.40 for a monthly total of $300.94 monthly for a single person. My wife has the same so as a couple we pay nearly $602.00 a month for medical and that doesn't include eyeglass or dental which we pay for as well.
If this sounds like a good deal to you don't forget we paid Medicare taxes for over 50 years as well.
How about we have a single payer system identical to Medicare where a family of four pays $1,200 monthly in medical premiums? Something tells me you would be against this but having someone on a fixed income pay the exact same amount you're ok with?
What it all boils down to is the crybabies that don't want to pay their own way. Now grow up and be a man.
And? I thought you just said that there is no free lunch? Care to guess how much would a private insurance charge you for same level of coverage? That's of course assuming they don't deem you uninsurable.
Also, comparing to family of 4 does not make much sense, presuming we are talking about much younger on average. But frankly speaking for a LOT of families the total cost is much higher than the $1200 a month. Yes, some of it could be employer sponsored, that does not mean it is not real money. It is part of the total compensation. What you get in perk you don't get in salary.
I can't complain. They seem to have more patients and move you in and out in a hurry. If you're not very ill or have a serious medical condition you don't get the tests and poking and prodding you did in years past. I was at the doctor's today and I waited longer at the checkout than I did for the visit.
Its helped at emergency room visits as well in real emergencies. They've cut back on the ER visits with kids with colds or guys with hemorrhoids who slow up response time. Now they go to actual doctors although they probably have a harder time getting appointments with more patients in the system.
As long as they're paying for insurance I'm glad everyone has access to medical care.
If we believe that public health should be a for-profit enterprise, we will reap the natural fruits of that belief.
Of course a service should be "for profit". Do you suggest otherwise? What other services and trades would you want someone to provide you? Housing? Food? Where did this sense of entitlement come from?
Of course a service should be "for profit". Do you suggest otherwise? What other services and trades would you want someone to provide you? Housing? Food? Where did this sense of entitlement come from?
Lol. Plenty of services are not for profit. That does not mean they are provided (as in free of charge)..
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