sue1234

if you work in uk then the nhs aint free, think about the health care you could of had if able to opt out, its only free if you dont work

Cuppa10

Great thread.

AngelaandJim

I work and don't pay for NHS treatment. Why do you ?

livinginreality

Why would you expect it to be free anyway?I don't mind paying my contributions(I also work for the NHS).

sue1234

dont you pay national insurance... and was merely stating it wasn't free to the people who are lucky enough to live in N.Z.

AngelaandJim

Yes I pay NI but it's nothing to what it would cost for any treatment I would need.

sue1234

so you pay so its not free, nothing to do with how much it would cost, what could you get from bupa if you were able to opt out and have private med in. It's only free to those who have never worked,

AngelaandJim

Are you having a bad day

teeym

I personally don't mind. Sure there are people who don't work and take out of the system, but I'm not going to spend my life worrying about a minority of freeloaders - I like to think I have a sense of the duty each individual has to make a contribution to society and paying your bit is included in that.

Sure the NHS could cut back on the red tape, but it is a vast organisation and changes can't be made overnight. But from personal experience they seem to have the recruitment spot on, as every single person I've met (from Consultant down to the volunteer tea lady) seemed like they really had a love for the job and genuinely cared about people.

So while I can think about possibly having opted out and maybe have spent time in a hospital that had a flat screen TV in the room, I prefer to think of it like this. The childhood asthma I had would - without NHS treatment - have killed me stone dead before I was 5. The magically fixed broken bones from playing rugby would have left me a cripple by the age of 17. And if they hadn't got my cancer when they did, I'd be dead before hitting 40.

The NHS and the people who work for it have saved and maintained my standard of life on more than one occassion and treated me with care, compassion and respect whilst going about it - why complain about it not being free when the results are priceless?

Karma to all healthcare bods wherever you may be - for my money you've earned it and then some.

sue1234

Hi,i'm not having a bad day but if you read some of the threads written by people living in N.Z, some of them are having a real bad time with there finances and just trying to help them not to be so down and realize medical care has never been free even in the uk, you see some people do care about other peoples wellbeing.

luvwelly

The expression is 'free at point of use'...a fine principle in a civilised society. Funded out of taxation/national insurance etc. It has no profit motive so costs are not forced needlessly up by insurance companies and greedy owners/employees as they are in USA.

scrubbedexpat094

Having worked in the NHS & the NZ health service & have been a receiver of treatment in both, give me the NHS any day.

At least in the NHS you don't have to lie to get treatment for free. To get ACC funding for various issues you are encouraged to say I fell etc. otherwise you have to pay for everything. People who are genuinely ill shouldn't have to worry whether they can afford an ambulance, a visit to the GP etc.

I would rather pay NI contributions from my salary & have the NHS at "free at the point of use" & have an honest relationship with my GP/ Consultant.

Charismatic

I don't know which model is better, here you pay higher taxes where as in the U.S. you have to purchase insurance cover. Either way you end up paying for the same service.

I have yet to be convinced that either system is really superior .

Jerseygirl

IMO the difference between healthcare in the UK and US is...in the UK healthcare and greatly subsidised/or free meds are available to everyone...young/old/rich/poor/employed/unemployed. In the US healthcare is available if you can afford to pay for it and many can't. Even if you can there is always the danger of having a long term or terminal illness and the insurance company refusing to insure you. If you have insurance every time you see a doctor you have to pay a co-pay...which is now usually around 20% of the doctor's bill. Meds are incredibly expensive...if you have meds insurance you still have a co-pay.

IMO healthcare should be a basic human right.

In the US the number one cause of bankruptcy is due to healthcare bills.

Hokey-pokey

I thought it was the lawyers bills - for suing the medics and hospitals non-stop, who then have to charge large amounts in order to pay their defence lawyers and fork out massive sums to claimants ... and so on and so forth .