Larry Daniels wrote: "How about universal health coverage just like
every other large industrialized country on the planet?"
Oh, Larry, I truly do love your sense of humor!!!! One of the great
myths in America is of how wonderful "universal" health coverage is.
Unfortunately, most Americans have absolutely no understanding of its
reality, and therefore it sounds appealing. Reality, unfortunately, is
quite different and would not be tolerated by usYanks.
First, it is certainlty not "free". Everyone has to pay for their
health insurance which goes under the name "National Insurance". Last
year, I sat down with a friend who lives about five minutes from
Stonehenge. She is a pub barmaid, her husband a woodcutter on the
estate of Lord Pembroke. Each of them pays more for their National
Insurance than my wife and I do for our Blue Shield coverage and Pam's
Medicare coverage.
Waiting lists are the constant bugaboo of the system. A couple of years
ago, Mandy visited us just after her GP had referred her to a specialist
about some circulation problems in her leg. She was told that she could
not get an appointment with the specialist for 18 months. While here, I
had checked by a doctor, and the diagnosis was phlebitis, and she was in
danger of losing both legs to amputation. (A letter to doctors back in
England got her treatment in time.)
Today, the U.K.'s health service is in a shambles, and even the Labour
Government admits it is. Hospitals and clinics are closing (the Labour
Government is being charged with closing hospitals in Conservative
areas.). The waiting lists for simple GP appointments is staggering
compared to American standards. Patients will no longer be able to have
follow-up visits with their specialist after surgery. The waiting list
for hip replacements is at least a year throughout the country. Doctors
are forbidden to prescribed certain expensive drugs for such issues as
breast cancer and Alzheimers. And now, as a cost-saving measure, the
Government has sent out an edict that hospitals are not to operate on
patients until they have been on a waiting list for 20 weeks. I could
go on and on, but you get the idea.
Today, more and more people in the U.K. are purchasing their own private
health insurance. Ironically, although this lightened the burden on the
NHS, the Government is going to great lengths to discourage the
practice. This while it has been revealed that some of the top
ministers in the Labour Government are themselves purchasing private
health insurance.
One of the problems that people in America have is that too many
complain about costs. The costs of health care and the cost of
insurance. Too many, however, forget the giant strides that have been
made in medicine in the last couple of generations. All of the mystical
magical equipment and procedures that we have today were simply not
available a few years ago. But it costs money. If people want
something for nothing, they can get it. But it won't be of the same
quality! Pam and I just happen to be fortunate enough to have who we
consider to be the most fantastic GP in the business; one has literally
saved Pam's life in the last few years (and she's the most beautiful).
We also have an HMO that has been outstanding, and with whom we have no
complaint.
To me, the bottom line is that despite all you hear, health care in
America is by far the best on the planet. Is it perfect? Of course
not. But compare your life expectancy with that of your father,
grandfather, and on back the line. You are living longer. (There are
naturally cultural difference that explain longevity in different
countries, as well.)
RBE
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