Future of the NHS
#301
Heading for Poppyland
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,576
Re: Future of the NHS
Apparently the total NHS budget for 2015 is 115 billion pounds. So a 2 billion deficit doesn't sound like its the end of the world. Just the government being unrealistic in its allocations. NHS has certain services to deliver and it needs an additional 2 billion to do it adequately.
#302
Re: Future of the NHS
Apparently the total NHS budget for 2015 is 115 billion pounds. So a 2 billion deficit doesn't sound like its the end of the world. Just the government being unrealistic in its allocations. NHS has certain services to deliver and it needs an additional 2 billion to do it adequately.
#303
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2010
Location: The sunshine state
Posts: 1,358
Re: Future of the NHS
A few changes I didn't know about in this article.........
Terrifyingly, according to the World Health Organisation definition the UK no longer has a NHS | Voices | The Independent
Terrifyingly, according to the World Health Organisation definition the UK no longer has a NHS | Voices | The Independent
#304
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: bute
Posts: 9,740
Re: Future of the NHS
The information war continues. Those with a vested interest want us to believe that the NHS is unaffordable and that we have to revert to a pre-NHS system. Financiers and US Health Companies would love to slice off great chunks of the Health Service and run it for a profit. this is one of the aspects of TIPP. Sod em. What was good enough for Nye Bevan is good enough for me !
#305
Re: Future of the NHS
The information war continues. Those with a vested interest want us to believe that the NHS is unaffordable and that we have to revert to a pre-NHS system. Financiers and US Health Companies would love to slice off great chunks of the Health Service and run it for a profit. this is one of the aspects of TIPP. Sod em. What was good enough for Nye Bevan is good enough for me !
I defy anyone who has lived in the USA to tell you its better to have to pay for service and for many who don't have 'gold plated' health policies be subject to yearly high deductibles and the worry that they will have to fund a % of any healthcare needs they or their dependents have. For example, imagine you go to the Dr in the UK for a skin rash, a typical everyday thing - treatment ensues no cost out of pocket. Here in the US that could easily be a $500 plus experience. And that is reality. I had a visitor who had a UK travel insurance and visited here and had a skin rash about 7 years ago. That little experience ended up costing the Insurance company $1200 dollars. And initially they tried to collect from me because I took them to the clinic!
Don't let them take it away you don't know what you lost until its gone.
Last edited by vikingsail; Mar 15th 2016 at 5:28 pm.
#306
Expat Warrior
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 5
Re: Future of the NHS
It's sad to read the NHS struggles. I've lived in the US for 10 years now and still hate to live in the private healthcare system. As an industry in the US, healthcare is a big money maker. Choices are everywhere, (there are at least 10 ERs within 30 mins of us), but at what cost? If you have a good job and corresponding good employer funded health insurance you muddle through. If not, bad health can cause you to lose everything. Even with reasonable health insurance, costs are a major concern. Here are a couple of recent family experiences:
- Having a baby, no complications, no hospital stay. Out of pocket cost $2,500 after insurance payments.
- Gall bladder removal with a few complications and 2 ER visits. Hospital bills $110,000. Out of pocket cost (after insurance payments) $4,200.
For someone who was raised on a free health system the US system is scary.
- Having a baby, no complications, no hospital stay. Out of pocket cost $2,500 after insurance payments.
- Gall bladder removal with a few complications and 2 ER visits. Hospital bills $110,000. Out of pocket cost (after insurance payments) $4,200.
For someone who was raised on a free health system the US system is scary.
#307
Re: Future of the NHS
I think most people would agree that the NHS is preferable to the healthcare system in the USA. But is the NHS superior to the systems in Canada, Germany, or France, where the system is based primarily on compulsory private insurance?
The WHO last compared national health systems in 2000, and then placed France 1st and the UK 18th. The UK has a relatively poor record on treating cancer, fewer hospital beds relative to the size of the population and fewer doctors per person than any other Western European country except Ireland.
It is very difficult to compare health systems, and different studies have produced very different results depending on their methodology. This article in the Socialist Health Association concludes that there is little evidence to justify the belief that the NHS is 'the envy of the world.'
The WHO last compared national health systems in 2000, and then placed France 1st and the UK 18th. The UK has a relatively poor record on treating cancer, fewer hospital beds relative to the size of the population and fewer doctors per person than any other Western European country except Ireland.
It is very difficult to compare health systems, and different studies have produced very different results depending on their methodology. This article in the Socialist Health Association concludes that there is little evidence to justify the belief that the NHS is 'the envy of the world.'
#308
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2012
Location: bute
Posts: 9,740
Re: Future of the NHS
The Tory ideologues are chipping away. Their press organs like the DM and the DE are continually telling their readers that the NHS is unaffordable. Drip, drip, drip.
#309
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2012
Location: Dépt 61
Posts: 5,254
Re: Future of the NHS
I hope it isn't, because I don't have any!
Last edited by EuroTrash; Oct 31st 2016 at 12:10 pm.
#310
Re: Future of the NHS
Last edited by Editha; Oct 31st 2016 at 7:48 pm. Reason: Unduly self critical
#311
Re: Future of the NHS
I think most people would agree that the NHS is preferable to the healthcare system in the USA. But is the NHS superior to the systems in Canada, Germany, or France, where the system is based primarily on compulsory private insurance?
The WHO last compared national health systems in 2000, and then placed France 1st and the UK 18th. The UK has a relatively poor record on treating cancer, fewer hospital beds relative to the size of the population and fewer doctors per person than any other Western European country except Ireland.
It is very difficult to compare health systems, and different studies have produced very different results depending on their methodology. This article in the Socialist Health Association concludes that there is little evidence to justify the belief that the NHS is 'the envy of the world.'
The WHO last compared national health systems in 2000, and then placed France 1st and the UK 18th. The UK has a relatively poor record on treating cancer, fewer hospital beds relative to the size of the population and fewer doctors per person than any other Western European country except Ireland.
It is very difficult to compare health systems, and different studies have produced very different results depending on their methodology. This article in the Socialist Health Association concludes that there is little evidence to justify the belief that the NHS is 'the envy of the world.'
I cannot speak for all Canadian provinces but private insurance is not compulsary in Ontario. In fact quite the opposite. From what I understand it is illegal to use private medical care/doctor if the care is available under OHIP.
#312
Re: Future of the NHS
I"m sorry but there is some kind of misunderstanding here. The Ontario health system is actually called The Ontario Health Insurance Plan. That is what I mean by compulsory health insurance. It is a different system to the NHS.
What is more, unlike the NHS, the OHIP does not cover medicines, except for particular groups, e.g. over 65s.
What is more, unlike the NHS, the OHIP does not cover medicines, except for particular groups, e.g. over 65s.
Last edited by Editha; Oct 31st 2016 at 9:05 pm.
#313
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Joined: May 2012
Location: South Bucks
Posts: 1,654
Re: Future of the NHS
I"m sorry but there is some kind of misunderstanding here. The Ontario health system is actually called The Ontario Health Insurance Plan. That is what I mean by compulsory health insurance. It is a different system to the NHS.
What is more, unlike the NHS, the OHIP does not cover medicines, except for particular groups, e.g. over 65s.
What is more, unlike the NHS, the OHIP does not cover medicines, except for particular groups, e.g. over 65s.
#314
Re: Future of the NHS
Most people I know who have lived in France or Germany have preferred the system there to the NHS.
#315
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2012
Location: Dépt 61
Posts: 5,254
Re: Future of the NHS
Fortunately I never had to use the NHS much and I haven't needed to use the French health system much either, so as a user I can't really comment in terms of quality of service. In financial terms, the obvious difference is that the NHS is free at the point of delivery and the French healthcare system in most cases is not, for most treatments the state only covers 70 per cent of the cost; also in terms of contributions, the NHS took less out of my pocket in NICs than France does in cotisations (as in, a few hundred a year in the UK, a few thousand a year on a similar income in France - so about 10 times as much).
Editha, I think the misunderstanding stemmed from the reference to compulsory private health insurance. Certainly it is compulsory to have health cover in force if you live in France, but most people have state cover not private cover. Everybody who works in France, and most EU citizens who live in France but don't work and don't have an S1, join the state system (PUMA). For people who for whatever reason are not eligible to join the state system then yes, they would be obliged to take out private health insurance.
My own personal view is that it's a mistake for NHS treatment to be totally free at the point of delivery. People take free healthcare for granted and place no value on it. They regard it as the state's responsibility to look after them, an automatic right, not their responsibility, not something they should have to dip into their own pocket towards. Sometimes, Brits who move to France are scandalised at finding they're expected to pay towards their own healthcare. We can't afford it, they say - but they can afford top of the range TV sets and other luxuries. It's a question of priorities, and having to contribute to the cost of healthcare, even a small affordable amount, makes you realise the value of healthcare - if only because you see the invoice, and you realise how much the state has paid for you to have that treatment. Maybe people would look after themselves better, be more careful with diet and lifestyle, smoke and drink less if the NHS did this, It would also help the NHS balance its books, and so as not to cause hardship there could be exemptions for those on low incomes, as indeed there are in France.
Editha, I think the misunderstanding stemmed from the reference to compulsory private health insurance. Certainly it is compulsory to have health cover in force if you live in France, but most people have state cover not private cover. Everybody who works in France, and most EU citizens who live in France but don't work and don't have an S1, join the state system (PUMA). For people who for whatever reason are not eligible to join the state system then yes, they would be obliged to take out private health insurance.
My own personal view is that it's a mistake for NHS treatment to be totally free at the point of delivery. People take free healthcare for granted and place no value on it. They regard it as the state's responsibility to look after them, an automatic right, not their responsibility, not something they should have to dip into their own pocket towards. Sometimes, Brits who move to France are scandalised at finding they're expected to pay towards their own healthcare. We can't afford it, they say - but they can afford top of the range TV sets and other luxuries. It's a question of priorities, and having to contribute to the cost of healthcare, even a small affordable amount, makes you realise the value of healthcare - if only because you see the invoice, and you realise how much the state has paid for you to have that treatment. Maybe people would look after themselves better, be more careful with diet and lifestyle, smoke and drink less if the NHS did this, It would also help the NHS balance its books, and so as not to cause hardship there could be exemptions for those on low incomes, as indeed there are in France.