exvj

and if you lie, they will take your money, give you coverage, and then back out when you claim with no refund of premium

I have refused triglyceride correcting pills for the same reason - I am fixing it through diet and exercise

snowbunny

The rationale is that they made the choice to dive into that building. They were probably alone and the only ones capable of saving you.

Whereas forcing taxpayers to fund a universal healthcare scheme means that they don't have a choice, and that really ticks a lot of people off; AND a lot of people don't see the need to "dive into the building" because they ASSume that "someone else will do it" (charity, existing government programs) and because they aren't *directly confronted* with the outcome of their choice not to pay. Start dumping ER patients into the Starbucks in affluent areas. Might shake things up a bit.

Giantaxe

So why are fire departments funded out of taxes then? Maybe the only fires they respond to should be those that are able to pay directly for their services?

[I think this actually happened somewhere in the US...]

exvj

yes these 'pro lifers' would change their minds if they thought the kid would grow up to be a socialist or gay or anti-american or a welfare scrounger or gang member etc

and if the kid grew up and fought for the wrong side, they would be the first to torture it to death too

torture is wrong unless.....

It's all about increasing the flock and the tithing base I reckon - it is rational even if it's not nice

snowbunny

I have no idea where they are getting 5% from. 3x 21,200 is roughly $60k per year. That's also roughly $5k per month gross (BEFORE income/sales/property taxes). Yet if I were to cover my husband and kids, it would cost me well over $1,000 per month to do it. That's more like 20% of $60k! If I run the numbers for a household of 1 and single coverage, it'd take 10% of $60k.

Rete

That would depend on what your lifestyle is like and where you live. A family of 4 on $63,000 is a nice salary in a place in the midwest or the south where 3 and 4 bedroom homes are around $300,000. Until the last 5 years, healthcare almost always included with a position with little cost to the employee. Higher education can and is funded with savings, scholarships, student loans and student's working.

I fully agree that the US needs national healthcare for its citizens. But I urge you to understand that you are comparing two separate cultures and two separate countries. Because Brits have had national healthcare since 1939 (read the article btw) you have grown up with this as a regular part of your life. Private healthcare is what Americans have grown up with all their lives. As I said two very separate ways of life. I would love to see national healthcare in the US without the problems associated with the NHS and Canadian healthcare, i.e. lack of doctors, wait for medical treatment, no coverage in Canada for prescriptions, glasses or dental unless privated funded, etc.

snowbunny

Because it's really easy to see the beneficial effect of having fire protection for all - if your neighbour's house catches fire and the fire department can't put it out cos they've not paid up - they'd have to wait until your house caught on fire to even respond. Again - the fire is in the person's face and threatens them.

If there were a highly contagious disease that could not be immunised against, and had a high morbidity/mortality rate, you bet more people would suddenly get on the universal coverage train.

exvj

NHS was introduced by minister Aneurin Bevan in 1948

I was born under the private health system which is why I am so pretty and worth every penny of the 10 bob it cost to smack my bottom
They forgot to wipe the smirk off my face though so private isnt infallible

scrubbedexpat091

Not sure where they got it from, I am sure somewhere on their website they have the methods they used.

My time in the US was spent at 1 employer and they covered a ton of our premiums, single was free, family was 12-30/month depending on size, plus 10 c0-pays and no deductible. (1999-2004)

When I turned 21 and was off my parents policy I had a single policy and I think I was paying 275/month or so which would have been about 15% of my income at the time. (1998)

Giantaxe

I don't see seniors screaming for Medicare to be scrapped.

exvj

that's the difference in the ethos in a nutshell- The US system is 'ultimately selfish' and a million people can die of plague without it needing action so long as ' I ' can't catch it

The idea that 'you might catch it' is a good argument to deploy among people who are selfish, as it helps to encourage them to pay, but Socialised medicine has at his heart the unselfish wish to cure others for no personal gain - many Americans can't get their head round that outside of a charity scenario - to Europeans it's natural

robin1234

I know these anecdotal issues have been hashed out at length in other threads here - but I have to say this -
I have never waited to see a doctor in England. When my two children were born there, delivered by an NHS midwife, on both occasions our family doctor visited us at home every single day for twelve days or so after the birth.
Here in St. Lawrence County, NY, there is a one year wait to see a urologist. I had to wait three months to see a surgeon about a hernia repair. In either case, I could have got a quicker referral if I'd been prepared to go 130 miles to Burlington, Vt. I have very good health care coverage from my employer, but services here are at third-world levels because most folks in this rural area can't afford health care so the services just aren't here. Give me the NHS any day.

Perhaps if we get coverage for all Americans, specialists & services will eventually be distributed around the country more evenly.

chartreuse

Sounds like you were lucky. On the other hand, the NHS killed my Mother and my Grandfather. I'll be the first to admit that the experience colours my view somewhat.

scrubbedexpat091

I doubt it. Doesn't work that way in Canada, the doctors and services are clustered in the city's, the rural areas have to drive a fair distance or wait and some rural areas have no doctors at all without going a fair distance.

There will always be rural areas that simply cannot support many doctors/services etc.

zargof

Here's a thought... I'm all for a NHS style system, but would you want the same people who are responsible for USCIS being responsible for your healthcare?