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Usa people, having a NHS is awesome!

Most people in the UK (everyone aside from the uber rich) loves the NHS. I just want you all to know that when we look at you across the pond, we have no idea why some of you fight so vigorously against the idea of universal health care.

I just wanna say this because sometimes I hear Americans bad mouthing our health care system and sure, its a massive organization and like all huge organizations there are horrible mistakes, but you never ever hear of the 99.999% of the times when people are cured/saved.

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sdfdgsfasfdgsfasdasfsdgds · 41-45, M

NHS is fantastic. Shame the government are trying to run it into the ground because while not perfect it and the people in it are a amazing thing.

I don't get the American resistance to it either

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Heartlander · 80-89, M

@Burnley123

Explain to me how the US system costs twice as much but delivers worse outcomes than the US system?

I don't know about either assumption that you are making.

Are the outcomes better under NHS?

While you and some of our politicians may think so, I think there may be twisted statistics. While the UK may enjoy a higher life expectancy, it's questionable whether that has anything to do with health care systems. We in the US tend to live riskier lives, and we tend to not listen too well to health advice, regardless of where we get that advice. Even advice from our FDA gets treated with the same disregard as do our traffic laws.

Just look at how we differ: the UK lost about 700 brave souls during the recent Middle East wars, the US lost about 7,000. Adjusting for population differences, the UK enjoyed a 2 to 1 lower casualty rate. Looking at other human activities, the US routinely experiences about 35,000 auto related fatalities per year while the UK has about 1,800 a year. Adjusted for population differences, the UK enjoys a 7 to 1 advantage in auto fatalities. There are other differences between the UK and the US that would seem to affect life expectancy. I would think that immigration rates would. The US accepts about twice as many legal immigrants as the UK does, and probably an infinite times more illegal immigrants than the UK. Again adjusted for population differences.

And twice as much?

Our own government in the US tinkers with our health care so much we have no idea about what it actually costs :) Our general experience with government run things suggests that it will probably cost even more if we tried NHS here.

None of this means that I dislike the UK. I spent a year living there and seriously enjoyed it.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@Heartlander Its true that there are a lot of variables and diet is probably a big factor too. But certainly the NHS system can't be said to have worse outcomes.

I understand your worries about the cultural difference but Canada also has a good healthcare system and cheaper. Maybe there are some arguments on cost but it can't be that big.

Thanks for being polite. I have also enjoyed my time in America and the people there are friendly.

Nyloncapes · 61-69, M

[@totalfury well said the people in it are fantastic and undervalued

SW-User

Many nations have similar systems of universal health care, NZ, Aus, even Canada among other nations.
A basic, nationally funded universal care system seems to me like it ought to be one of the most essential requirements of a civilised nation.
Healthcare and the ramifications thereof really ought not vary by income and class.
It would be hard to find average people in these nations who would willingly wish to dismantle their health systems in favour of private insurance.

That being said, private insurance ought to be an OPTION if one desires and although a few take on such additional policies, most have no need or want for private health care when the national system is more than sufficient.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@SW-User

It would be hard to find average people in these nations who would willingly wish to dismantle their health systems in favour of private insurance

US health care isn't really a "private insurance" system. In essence it's a free-market place system suffering from tampering by special interests attempting to game the system to their advantage at the expense of others. That characteristic would unlikely change under a single payor system like you have in the UK.

A combination of selective tax advantages and unfair business practices game the US system not towards the wealthy but towards political forces.

To understand the US health insurance system it's like trying to understand why someone would place a $2 bet on a horse that only pays $1.25 to win, less to place or show, and zero to finish further behind. Well, if the person betting is betting with tax-free dollars it makes perfect sense.

Northwest · M

If you have people in the US, badmouthing the UK NHS, it's because they're politically motivated, and don't know better.

No system is perfect, but what we have in the USA is a disaster. Medical expenses are way out of control, and while those who can afford it, have it great, the overwhelming majority has to compromise. It's getting worse.

Obamacare (ACA), was a step in the right direction, but a single payer system should be the ultimate goal. The Trump administration, has been doing everything it possibly can, to destroy the little progress that was made.

Prior to my retirement, I used to average 16 trips to the UK per year, and I rarely ran into someone who complained.

thatscottishguy · 26-30, M

It has its problems but many stem from a government that wants to make it as bad as possible to get public opinion to turn on it so they can start selling it off. Never met one person here though who would swap it for an American style system. Always makes me laugh seeing American adverts with the most ridiculous scaremongering about universal healthcare. These people are from another fucking planet.

Nyloncapes · 61-69, M

@thatscottishguy totally agree.

liondog · 51-55, M

Lived in the UK my entire life and although the NHS has it's share of problems I'm happy with it. My mother has had two hip replacements under the NHS with no need to worry about any costs or whether or not her health insurance would cover them both.

My parents were also seriously injured in a serious road traffic accident a few years ago and all the healthcare (paramedics, surgery, after care and physio therapy) was covered under the NHS.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

It probably goes to why the US isn't part of the Commonwealth or the UK. We here are mostly descendents of immigrants who came here to escape places that had too much government and not enough personal choice.

In general we distrust large institutions or at least hold them at arm's length from our personal lives. We've had enough interaction with government agencies via military service and/or our local driver's license office to cause us to hesitate on any suggestion of universal health care. What failures we see in our own health care system are attributed to government interference rather than a failures of a free marketplace.

As measured in percent of gdp, the US pays about 25 percent of gdp in taxes. In the UK it's about 39 percent. To get all that extra government you enjoy in the UK, I don't think many of us in the US would be willing to pay 50 percent MORE in taxes than we do now. Remember, the US started with the belief that England was overtaxing us for what we in the colony got in return.

Intissima · F

Its very rare I hear someone actually bad mouth it. Most of the people I have I come across are trying to “save our NHS”.

DrBenway · 61-69, M

@Intissima yeah but in USA some people point at it and say its a disaster.

HootyTheNightOwl

Enjoy the NHS while you still have it - thanks to all the cutbacks, it's dying a slow and painful death... and it's possible that whatever remains will only be a mere shadow of the once wonderful organisation that we once had!!!

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CountScrofula · 41-45, M

@Burnley123 Alberta went through this in the early 00s. Mass revolt stopped the privatization (or sidelining) of the public health care here.

HootyTheNightOwl

@Burnley123 It may already be too late for that, though. They already cherry picked some of the best bits of the NHS when they did the sell off.

We still have issues within the dentistry arm of the NHS with people who need a dentist being unable to find one

And, ever since Universal Credit became a thing, the NHS has no doubt wasted much more money than it has recouped by constantly writing to people asking them if they are entitled to free prescriptions. How much more of any funding increase do you think will be spent chasing some of the poorset members of society to force them to pay for prescriptions that they were entitled to for free in the first place???

Neither the Government or the media can be trusted any more and it's been that way for a long time now!!!

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@HootyTheNightOwl I don't think it's ever too late. It's a sliding scale. I can get better or worse over time. If people are resigned to it, then they want that.

Shayla · F

As an American, this is one huge reason I have considered leaving.

AnaKoroleva · 36-40, F

I have lived in UK and USA in the last 10 years and also of course Russia my home country, it is I think the shame of the USA that there is not free healthcare for people provided by the state. In Russia always people are told to respect this and it is big benefit to the people, in UK it is the same I think with NHS.

HoraceGreenley · 56-60, M

Every person I have ever spoken to who has lived in the UK, has said the NHS is terrible. This includes people in England that I spoke to while there.

They universally said to me, "you Yanks are crazy if want health care like we have."

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DrBenway · 61-69, M

@HoraceGreenley its not guy Fawkes BTW its Mr Quimper

HoraceGreenley · 56-60, M

@DrBenway Thanks. That does me no good

luckranger71 · 51-55, M

Yeah I’m gonna call BS on this one. Polling is pretty clear that the NHS is popular. And I’ll see my English relatives next week and pass along their report. 😎

Mamapolo2016 · F

I always thought bad-mouthing each other was sort of an intramural sport...no?

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DrBenway · 61-69, M

@Mamapolo2016 and forgive the trespasses of a country less than 300. They are still finding their feet

Mamapolo2016 · F

@DrBenway Yes. Fortunately we found our wings a while back.

MarmeeMarch · M

@DrBenway Not finding our feet but inventing 90% of what you use today while feeding the world.

SW-User

Cause the top dogs of America like money, and having people pay tons for insurance, or screwing them over with medical bills when they don't have any, is profitable to them.

Graylight · 51-55, F

@SW-User I'm guessing England runs the NHS, whereas here Big Pharma and the insurance companies run government.

MarmeeMarch · M

Well at least in the USA the doctors dont come out of the waiting rooms with blood all over their white coats wearing dishwashing gloves and goggles saying , next ? like most countries.

Nyloncapes · 61-69, M

The NHS is brilliant , all these people who moan about it, over here first place they go if any wrong and only government is ruining it, never had any trouble with NHS

FurryFace · 61-69, M

true , we tend to take stuff as granted until its gone or gets interrupted

katielass · F

Because some of us know the truth.

HoraceGreenley · 56-60, M

I think this post is a scam. The post and comments are made by 1 or 2 people in an attempt to spread disinformation to sway opinion.

DrBenway · 61-69, M

@HoraceGreenley I don't see a verification tick next to your profile pic. "Scam" implies I'm trying to illicitly trick people into getting money. I just offered an opinion and the vast majority of comments just happened to agree with me.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@HoraceGreenley Some people only see what they want to believe. The confirmation bias is strong in this one.

HoraceGreenley · 56-60, M

@DrBenway there are other scams

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