Englishmum

OK....yes, it's in the 'Daily Mail' but this is what one US based Brit expat says about her hospital experiences in LA and London:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...best-care.html

(Loads of comments below the article as well)

robin1234

What an excellent article! Well written and really gets to the point of the humanity & caring attitude that I've noticed in health care in the UK versus the United States. I really think that being in a commercial enterprise does corrupt doctors and nurses in the US. Thanks for posting it.. this goes a long way to redeeming the Daily Mail. I'll have a look at the comments below the article later.. should be some fun to be had there!

HumphreyC

Good counter to a lot of the healthcare propaganda (or misleading impressions) you get over here. The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is one of the best in the UK - however the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is pretty highly ranked as well so the comparison is fair.

Bob

Some of the comments are disheartening though.

People either focusing on that the NHS is still tax funded and not free, thus missing the point of cost at service...or bringing up how quick service in the US can be when having good insurance saying how it works because it isn't funded by taxes, thus missing the point of those either un-insured or worse, those who are under-insured.

It was a good article though.

fatbrit

I think the DM health editor must be on his hols and this slipped through rather than the usual feast of x does/does not give you cancer.

As usual with a DM article, tough, there are things that have you scratching your head:
The NHS was not free to me because I have not lived in Britain for so long. I have yet to receive the bill, but the published cost of a gall bladder removal by laparoscopy is around £3,000 in the UK, so I am expecting a similar charge for my appendectomy in London

An appendectomy was presumably an emergency procedure, so there should be no charge.

robin1234

Isn't this a bit different from a normal newspaper article, in that it is actually written by the person concerned.. not filtered through a journalist's narrative reporting.

dogloverus

Well if there is travel Insurance willing to pay I dont begrudge the NHS trying to get a few quid from it.

Given enough foreigners take it for a ride in the first place!

fatbrit

Effing foreigners, eh?

fatbrit

Journalists at the Daily Mail?

Shome mishtake, shurely?

Sally Redux

Certainly squares with what my husband says having worked with doctors in both systems as a research scientist. His first job here was at Cedars, he hated the ethos there.

dogloverus

was the ethos for the doctors at cedar to grab the patients wallet by its throat before doing anything first by chance??

robin1234

Actually that was one aspect of the article (which in general I thought was excellent and well written) that was a bit unfair and laid on a bit thick. All you have to do when seeking care in the US, or registering at the hospital or whatever, is establish your insurance credentials. I've never found it traumatic or offensive .. although clearly it would be different for someone who didn't have insurance.

Giantaxe

She didn't claim it was traumatic or offensive; she merely contrasted the time it takes to get the information for them to get paid with the time it took for her to be attended to. The only comment I'd quibble with is being asked for a copayment in emergency. In my limited experience, that hasn't happened - we've been billed later.

robin1234

Well, she described it as "American private hospital where doctors grab you by the wallet and say ‘cough’ before they’ll do anything else." Sounds a bit traumatic & offensive, to me..?

I'd agree with your quibble about copayments up front; I've never ever been asked for one.

Bob

I have....quite a few friends too.

Usually from experience, a $75 ER co-pay you pay up front, which then gets refunded by insurance if you get admitted over night, presuming you've met the annual deductible.