USA vs UK medical care.

[Texan77]

Their are problems with USA medical care. But most people working age get health insurance thru their work. In my case I get nearly free care thru the VA which runs a system much like the NHS except much shorter wait time in most cases.  Also I get Medicare and I buy a plan for 144 dollars a month that covers the deductible and subscription drugs.  This way I have two different plans for medical care.

I had a 80 plus year old friend who could not afford the 144 dollars a month and they took care of him just like he could pay the deductible after Medicare. He just sent them something every month. 

The problem is if your young and you do not have much of a job then medical care can be a problem. There has been many debates here in the USA about having a system like the NHS but we hear too many stories about people dying before they can get scheduled for the care they need in a timely manner. Obama care has pretty much died out. Biden and the democrats were suppose to fix the system but now that he is in office not a word about it. The concern is they will make a bad system worse like they did with Obama care. Obama care did not do anything that got democrats reelected.

If you have an emergency the hospitals have to take care of you without concern on your ability to pay. The problem this does not provide long term care and does not provide preventive medical care.  Their are funds people can find for serious illness to give them enough money to pay for their care. It is a mess to apply for and not everyone can find funds. If you are other wise healthy, have a good chance of survival,  their is a chance the hospital can help you find funds. I have known people to do this but I do not know the ratio of people who can find funds and those who can not. 

It is my understanding that many people in the UK are buying private insurance to so they can get the care they need in an emergency.  There are a number of people in UK who do not quality for NHS care and there is a complete private system also.  I also understand as the population ages the strain on the NHS is expected to grow from both less people paying into the system and more people in need of using it. It is true we have a problem like that with Medicare also. 

Free USA medial plan for people on Medicare.

[Manny]

There are a number of people in UK who do not quality for NHS care and there is a complete private system also.

That's not quite true. For every citizen and permanent resident the NHS is free at the point of delivery. All you pay for is prescriptions which you can get a plan about £10 a month. The poor don't even pay that.

Private hospitals don't do everything here. They tend to do procedures, like hips, knees, cosmetic surgery, etc. You can use it to jump the queue for consultations, scans and some cancer treatments but if there is something really wrong with you only the NHS has the facilities.

Our NHS gets some criticism. Parts of it are managed badly, but other parts of it are beyond excellent.

Our daughter recently got Covid which on its own isn't much to worry about for a kid. But the Covid exacerbated another previously undiagnosed condition and soon became something serious. We called an ambulance, that took her to the Emergency room, they stabilised her and decided to move her to a specialist hospital. An amazing team came in to do that. They took her to intensive care in a quite new hospital, the treatment was quite complex and the arrival of pneumonia and a random infection on top didn't help. She wasn't in a good place. The care she received was beyond superb on every level and she began to recover, a week ago they discharged her onto a ward with a private en suite room where her mother could stay too. Nicer than most hotel rooms. Today they moved her onto another floor from where she'll be discharged when she is a little better in the very near future. The care has been not only world-class but totally free. I can't imagine what that might have cost in the US. More than my house probably.

Expats like Steve and Andrew use the local facilities where they are which are often quite decent. But as with most expats, if there's something *really* wrong with them, they'd be on a plane back home in a heartbeat. I'd not like to think of the outcome if we had been in Russia or China.

I've used the medical system in the US under travellers insurance when a girlfriend once got sick there. We were treated like stray dogs in a favella until they got the fax from the insurance company in London confirming they'd pay. At that moment, a team of people dashed out, bunged her on a trolley, wheeled her off and fixed her pretty quickly. Great treatment and facilities, but not unless you can pay. I think I prefer our system with all its failings.

[andrewfi]

Hey, Texan77, you might want to think about moving countries now that you're getting on in years. You'd be alive about 3 months longer than you would in Estonia than the USA in terms of life expectancy. I hope that you don't have family in Mississippi. If you do, you've got a lot of funerals coming up!



https://www.americashealthrankings.org/learn/reports/2020-annual-report/international-comparison

And you guys don't need to have abortions - you're already world-class in killing off your young! But on the upside, you lot are above Chile in that metric!


But more interestingly, which propaganda source misled you so badly about the NHS in the UK? That should be very troubling to you. Probably more troubling than your 3rd world life expectancy.

I wrote elsewhere of the benefits of fact-checking oneself before making posts of a factual nature. It does save embarrassment.

[Lord of the Dance]

There are a number of people in UK who do not quality for NHS care and there is a complete private system also.

That's not quite true. For every citizen and permanent resident the NHS is free at the point of delivery. All you pay for is prescriptions which you can get a plan about £10 a month. The poor don't even pay that.

Private hospitals don't do everything here. They tend to do procedures, like hips, knees, cosmetic surgery, etc. You can use it to jump the queue for consultations, scans and some cancer treatments but if there is something really wrong with you only the NHS has the facilities.

Our NHS gets some criticism. Parts of it are managed badly, but other parts of it are beyond excellent.

Our daughter recently got Covid which on its own isn't much to worry about for a kid. But the Covid exacerbated another previously undiagnosed condition and soon became something serious. We called an ambulance, that took her to the Emergency room, they stabilised her and decided to move her to a specialist hospital. An amazing team came in to do that. They took her to intensive care in a quite new hospital, the treatment was quite complex and the arrival of pneumonia and a random infection on top didn't help. She wasn't in a good place. The care she received was beyond superb on every level and she began to recover, a week ago they discharged her onto a ward with a private en suite room where her mother could stay too. Nicer than most hotel rooms. Today they moved her onto another floor from where she'll be discharged when she is a little better in the very near future. The care has been not only world-class but totally free. I can't imagine what that might have cost in the US. More than my house probably.

Expats like Steve and Andrew use the local facilities where they are which are often quite decent. But as with most expats, if there's something *really* wrong with them, they'd be on a plane back home in a heartbeat. I'd not like to think of the outcome if we had been in Russia or China.

I've used the medical system in the US under travellers insurance when a girlfriend once got sick there. We were treated like stray dogs in a favella until they got the fax from the insurance company in London confirming they'd pay. At that moment, a team of people dashed out, bunged her on a trolley, wheeled her off and fixed her pretty quickly. Great treatment and facilities, but not unless you can pay. I think I prefer our system with all its failings.

Sorry to hear about your daughter's bout with poor health Manny. Glad to hear that she's through the worst of it and on the mend. I'm not one to debate the intricacies of various healthcare systems but I'm glad that you don't end up paying an arm and leg over there. Here in the US I know that medical costs can get out of hand quickly. My maternal grandmother ended up spending several months in the hospital before she eventually passed away and by the time things were send and done, her 'bill' ended up being about $750,000. I quipped that because she died, they should've reduced the amount some (she would've laughed).

[Wiz]

There are a number of people in UK who do not quality for NHS care and there is a complete private system also.

That's not quite true. For every citizen and permanent resident the NHS is free at the point of delivery. All you pay for is prescriptions which you can get a plan about £10 a month. The poor, don't even pay that.

Private hospitals don't do everything here. They tend to do procedures, like hips, knees, cosmetic surgery, etc. You can use it to jump the queue for consultations, scans and some cancer treatments but if there is something really wrong with you only the NHS has the facilities.

Our NHS gets some criticism. Parts of it are managed badly, but other parts of it are beyond excellent.

Our daughter recently got Covid which on its own isn't much to worry about for a kid. But the Covid exacerbated another previously undiagnosed condition and soon became something serious. We called an ambulance, that took her to the Emergency room, they stabilised her and decided to move her to a specialist hospital. An amazing team came in to do that. They took her to intensive care in a quite new hospital, the treatment was quite complex and the arrival of pneumonia and a random infection on top didn't help. She wasn't in a good place. The care she received was beyond superb on every level and she began to recover, a week ago they discharged her onto a ward with a private en suite room where her mother could stay too. Nicer than most hotel rooms. Today they moved her onto another floor from where she'll be discharged when she is a little better in the very near future. The care has been not only world-class but totally free. I can't imagine what that might have cost in the US. More than my house probably.

Expats like Steve and Andrew use the local facilities where they are which are often quite decent. But as with most expats, if there's something *really* wrong with them, they'd be on a plane back home in a heartbeat. I'd not like to think of the outcome if we had been in Russia or China.

I've used the medical system in the US under travellers insurance when a girlfriend once got sick there. We were treated like stray dogs in a favella until they got the fax from the insurance company in London confirming they'd pay. At that moment, a team of people dashed out, bunged her on a trolley, wheeled her off and fixed her pretty quickly. Great treatment and facilities, but not unless you can pay. I think I prefer our system with all its failings.

Firstly, sorry I missed this little gem post of yours and before making any comments, I want to wish your daughter speedy recovery, so you and Olga get some decent sleep. BTW I am saving this post for future reference and despite your views I took the Liberty to Emphasise in red and large letters your comments about our NHS!

I hope your American cousins over the post and some ex-pats take your comments on board. My NHS experience over the years has also been very good and there no comparison with the extremely bad health system of my birth country!

Finnaly are you aware that there are around 4000 Greek doctors working for the NHS and get very good pay, in comparison with Greece?

[Markje]

Our NHS gets some criticism. Parts of it are managed badly, but other parts of it are beyond excellent.

I read this in Dutch news today and found it heartbreaking.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/694948779/overleden-patient-ligt-vier-dagen-onopgemerkt-in-ziekenhuis

short summary: Dead patient lies in hospital for 4 days unnoticed, it is unclear why they died.

I know why : Negligence of personell. Lets hope this hospital treats this as a learning moment to check *each* patient at least daily for life signs (yes, sad that this is apparently not standard care).