Happy Birthday To Great Britain's Increasingly Scandalous National Health Service

[Teddy B 17,251]

Your pretty chart is almost completely devoid of facts. If you really think healthcare outcomes are "very measurable and comparable", and that those compiling these so-called statistics (on either side of the debate) do not have a political agenda, you know even less about healthcare than I thought.

Not to be a smart a$$, but my money is on Big Dog when it comes to healthcare. He's well versed on the subject.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

I said I agree. It was the F word the USA I did not like, the health care system is different

NB, I am a red-blooded 'Murica-lovin' patriot, and that's why I hate the health care system here. We deserve better, and we deserve to actually be the best.

AMERICA, I STILL LOVE YOU

Edited October 29, 2014 by Barack 0bola

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

NB, I am a red-blooded 'Murica-lovin' patriot, and that's why I hate the health care system here. We deserve better, and we deserve to actually be the best.

AMERICA, I STILL LOVE YOU

Thanks for clearing that up.

Not to be a smart a$$, but my money is on Big Dog when it comes to healthcare. He's well versed on the subject.

I pretty much agree with most of the things he has said. That chart showing England #1 in all catagories was suspect and I disagree with him that our outcomes suck across the board, but other than that he is spot on

Not to be a smart a$$, but my money is on Big Dog when it comes to healthcare. He's well versed on the subject.

I pretty much agree with most of the things he has said. That chart showing England #1 in all categories was suspect and I disagree with him that our outcomes suck across the board, but other than that he is spot on

[JohnR! 5,495]

:thumbs:

It must be that California air you've been breathing...

NB, I am a red-blooded 'Murica-lovin' patriot, and that's why I hate the health care system here. We deserve better, and we deserve to actually be the best.

AMERICA, I STILL LOVE YOU

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I pretty much agree with most of the things he has said. That chart showing England #1 in all catagories was suspect and I disagree with him that our outcomes suck across the board, but other than that he is spot on

See, if you would manage to pay attention every now and then, you'd have noticed that he (that would be me) did not say "across the board". He (that would still be me) said "overall". That makes a big difference.

[Merle 458]

I've never experienced U.K. healthcare but I was wondering how high taxes are to pay for it? Say someone has the same type of job in the U.S. as they do in the U.K. would this person still bring home the same pay? I'm just curious because every time I hear mention of the NHS I hear about how high the taxes are to pay for it. What about the cost of living in the U.K.? Can a person making $50,000 a year in the U.K. afford to have a decent house in the suburbs like you can in the U.S?

[Sousuke 1,214]

I've never experienced U.K. healthcare but I was wondering how high taxes are to pay for it? Say someone has the same type of job in the U.S. as they do in the U.K. would this person still bring home the same pay? I'm just curious because every time I hear mention of the NHS I hear about how high the taxes are to pay for it. What about the cost of living in the U.K.? Can a person making $50,000 a year in the U.K. afford to have a decent house in the suburbs like you can in the U.S?

I lived there from the age of 23 through 26.

I made in US dollars about 40k at the beginning until about 46k when i left. I paid about on average about 12 -13% tax not including NI payments (similar to medicare/SS)

My rent was about 600 dollars in a nice neighborhood (I split with others so the house was more total) and I didn't need a car. I paid a small council tax every couple of months and a yearly tv tax. Internet was about 80 a month with a tv package.

I probably spent about 300 dollars on food. I received a prescription for antibiotics once and they cost 5 pounds.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Sousuke

[Teddy B 17,251]

I've never experienced U.K. healthcare but I was wondering how high taxes are to pay for it? Say someone has the same type of job in the U.S. as they do in the U.K. would this person still bring home the same pay? I'm just curious because every time I hear mention of the NHS I hear about how high the taxes are to pay for it. What about the cost of living in the U.K.? Can a person making $50,000 a year in the U.K. afford to have a decent house in the suburbs like you can in the U.S?

Do you not think that eliminating health care payments and deductibles would offset the higher taxes needed to fund a universal healthcare program?

$50K a year income won't get you much of a house anywhere in the US that I am aware of, especially with a family.

My wife is from Canada and they are more than able to have nice homes and vehicles and live well on the same incomes that we have here in the US. I have been there many times and I have found the cost of living to be relative to that of the US. Some things are more expensive there than here, but some things are much less as well.

[Merle 458]

Do you not think that eliminating health care payments and deductibles would offset the higher taxes needed to fund a universal healthcare program?

$50K a year income won't get you much of a house anywhere in the US that I am aware of, especially with a family.

I'm sure it would but if the end effect is that you have the same amount of money in your pocket at the end of the day than what is the difference? And I bought my first home when I was making $35,000 a year in Arizona. It was small but in a decent neighborhood and I was single.

[Teddy B 17,251]

I'm sure it would but if the end effect is that you have the same amount of money in your pocket at the end of the day than what is the difference? And I bought my first home when I was making $35,000 a year in Arizona. It was small but in a decent neighborhood and I was single.

The difference is the healthcare system itself. This system we have here in the US is terrible, a universal single payer healthcare system is much less bulky and easier to use. No weekly deductions from your paycheck, no co pays, no referrals, everything is covered.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

My Pinay wife same thing. My doctor talks to my insurance company more than he does me. Something wrong with that .

In all fairness, you can't blame the good doctor for rather talking to the insurance company than to you. I can see why he would have that preference.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'm sure it would but if the end effect is that you have the same amount of money in your pocket at the end of the day than what is the difference? And I bought my first home when I was making $35,000 a year in Arizona. It was small but in a decent neighborhood and I was single.

What does thec cost and affordability of real estate have to do with the health care system?

Anyway, in ol' Germany people pay in the neighborhood of 15% for health insurance. Half is paid by employer and half by employee. There are no deductibles or co-pays - there were small quarterly co-pays but I believe they got rid of them again.

Insurance here is not paid as a percentage of income so those making less effectively pay a higher percentage than those making more. Looking at the average household income (~55K) and the average household health insurance cost (15K), the ratio is well above the 15% that folks in Germany pay. And then you still have deductibles and co-pays to deal with. It's a raw deal no matter how much cheaper a starter home in AZ might be.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

The difference is the healthcare system itself. This system we have here in the US is terrible, a universal single payer healthcare system is much less bulky and easier to use. No weekly deductions from your paycheck, no co pays, no referrals, everything is covered.

And what folks don't realize is we are already paying for healthcare, and it's wya way more per capita than other countries per person. Yes Obamacare is messed up and sucks, but it's a first step. Putting the insurance companies is charge was madness. Now my repub friends have got to stop ####### blocking and making something real happen.

Once and for all. We spend more for every citizen for healthcare than any country in the world. If we can get it right the cost burden should go down not up.

In all fairness, you can't blame the good doctor for rather talking to the insurance company than to you. I can see why he would have that preference.

Bawhha you so funny.

What I am saying is I have a 14 min visit. Then the spend hours trying o get drugs PA file claims etc.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

I've never experienced U.K. healthcare but I was wondering how high taxes are to pay for it? Say someone has the same type of job in the U.S. as they do in the U.K. would this person still bring home the same pay? I'm just curious because every time I hear mention of the NHS I hear about how high the taxes are to pay for it. What about the cost of living in the U.K.? Can a person making $50,000 a year in the U.K. afford to have a decent house in the suburbs like you can in the U.S?

Several years back, I did a salary comparison with Canada. Using a head trauma nurse in Canada compared to an hourly employee making about $30 an hour. The nurse in Canada made about $150,000, the job in the US paid $63,000. But after all was said and done, and both paid their taxes, the income was about equal. If memory serves me correctly, it was within about $3,000 USD.

So while the "free" health care in Canada seemed great at first, it did come at a pretty high price. US pays monthly in premiums and by visit in deductibles, Canada paid monthly in taxes.

Not trying to compare the quality of the care by any means.

[JohnR! 5,495]

The issue with comparing health care in the US with any other comparable country is that we can't access properly the cost of untreated patients. In these countries people have access to preventive care, which may indicate that many conditions are treated before they become too serious and more costly to manage. With our health care system many people only seek treatment through ERs, when the ailment is already far too advanced to be controlled.

Several years back, I did a salary comparison with Canada. Using a head trauma nurse in Canada compared to an hourly employee making about $30 an hour. The nurse in Canada made about $150,000, the job in the US paid $63,000. But after all was said and done, and both paid their taxes, the income was about equal. If memory serves me correctly, it was within about $3,000 USD.

So while the "free" health care in Canada seemed great at first, it did come at a pretty high price. US pays monthly in premiums and by visit in deductibles, Canada paid monthly in taxes.

Not trying to compare the quality of the care by any means.