The NHS - is it free healthcare? Can you even get it?

[ClTIZEN]

If you don't like our system, and you don't live here, then no one cares what you have to say. If you don't like our system, and you do live here, then you can buy your own private healthcare. My experiences with the NHS have been nothing but excellent, and I have never had to wait for treatment. You can visit your doctor any day you wish, and you pay nothing for the drugs needed to help you. Nothing, nothing whatsoever. Not even one penny. We believe in free healthcare for everyone, so wheesht.

[noclaimsdiscount]

@ClTIZEN I do pay. I pay a lot for this health care system. Because it is wasteful and badly run it probably costs me more in taxes than if it were private and I had to buy insurance. It's not FREE unless you don't work (pay taxes). But that's beside the point ...

... I have to pay NOW too. I'm glad every illness you've had has been covered by the NHS and that your prescriptions are free. Mine have not. I've had to spend over £10,000 already. Handed direct to the NHS, not some private hospital.

[KuraIthys]

Why is everything you cite about how bad the NHS is apparently sponsored by an insurance company? You think the government is biased, but private insurance providers aren't? What are the interests of such insurance providers in making the NHS look bad? That's hardly unbiased research.

[ComidianTwiizk]

Evil man is evil.

[KurNorock]

Free healthcare my ass. The money has to come from somewhere. OH YEAH!! your taxes. Your taxes are much higher than they should be because of the NHS. If you could keep that money you could afford private health insurance 3 times over. probably more.

[TiberJai]

actually americans pay three times the amount per person on health care then in the UK. The insuance guyis the middle man that is paid for by you as well as paying for your health care. Like a little leach stealing your money. The NHS isnst perfect but it is rated 18th best in teh world by the WHO, whilst america is 37th two places in front of cuba, a third world country.

[KurNorock]

@TiberJai - Maybe you should take a better look at just how those ratings are calculated. They only use mortality statistics and do not account for things such as accidental deaths, racial factors (the US has many large populations of various races which statistically do not live as long as other races regardless of the healthcare they receive) and things such as death from tobacco use and AIDS which have hit the ?US harder than other countries.

[TiberJai]

But on average British people do live longer. Also, i'll agree for acute illnesses if you have the money america is better, yet for chronic illness you come the britain. But still america has an expensive system, where you pay three times the amount we do. Also tobacco use here is also a big crisis, with huge NHS campaigns trying to break the habits, as well as obesity.

We have a higher life expectancy, as well as a lower infant mortality rate.

[opryhunter]

i agree that brits have great system,but that if the U.S. wants the same kind of system, we will have to redefine how the U.S. gov. works because there are way too many people here in america that would abuse the system and ruin it for all of us

[jondarren85]

Are you saying that we should move towards a private health system?? NO WAY!! In the us as well as paying your premiums, you have to pay an excess (or deducible as they call it) on your medical insurance treatments which is usually quite high ($2000 excess isn't uncommon). I believe the french has the most successful medical system like the nhs it's free. We could learn from the french medical system and maybe adopt some of it??

[Nintendomanwill]

@jondarren85

First of all costs cannot come down unless production increases and unless consumption decreases, i.e. if supply is low and demand is low. Governmental, coercive control cannot actually decrease costs though if you're willing to compare the quantifiable costs of high-deductible insurance with the taxes that pay for the NHS, then you are perhaps falsely assuming that ceteris paribus. In other words, is the quality of service the same? And the USA hasn't had a free market in health.

[mihalspinvinyl]

i've had some probs with treatment and could really do wi some help sorting out, tried everything I know..asked advice from various sources.

I think i need a solicitor ?

[hauskalainen]

Someone from an insurance company telling everyone how BAD the NHS is?

err.. biased or what?

Fact! Less than 10% of UK population has private health insurance and most of them get it as an employer perk. Less than 2% actually buy their own insurance.

This is because the insurers (even in the UK) do not cover pre-existing conditions, will not cover seeing a general physician, and won't cover you for childbirth, diabetes and so on.

NHS v Private?

Really. Its no contest!

[TornMMA]

Typical Americans complaining about there health care and blah blah, you own a computer and are commenting on the web aren't you? Put that money towards your health than idiots. And that is coming from an american.

[harr7959]

It makes me sad to see people like this guy whining about his healthcare system when here, in the USA, we lose 44,000 people every year because they cannot afford access to healthcare.

In the USA, we pay twice as much as you do, and still millions of us cannot have ANY access to healthcare. What a pitty that you are so pessimistic...

[noclaimsdiscount]

44,000 out of 304,059,724 people is 0.01% of your US population. 0.01% of the UK population is 6139 people. A hell of a lot more than six thousand people a year die because the NHS is a cut-budget death trap. If we could reduce the number of people the NHS refuses to treat and who subsequently die to 6000 people a year - we'd have made progress!! Remember, the NHS refuses to treat people because they don't want to pay far more than under the US system.

[krazykeys88]

The reason people die is because of infections. The reason people get infections is because of privatised cleaning services. A study shows that in areas that have private cleaning services infection rates are up to 85% higher. The PRIVATE SECTOR is to blame for deaths NOT the NHS. @harr7959 its good to see that not all Americans have been brainwashed by Rupert Merdochs Lies :-)

[KurNorock]

@harr7959 - don't be such a hippie. EVERYBODY in america can get healthcare. There is nothing stopping them. and even if you don't have healthcare, it is illegal for an emergency room to turn anybody away who needs medical attention. Maybe if the liberal politicians hadn't FORCED employers to provide health insurance, and then made it illegal to compete across state lines, then health insurance companies could compete for your business and we would have lower costs overall.

[cwood4ever]

@harr7959 you're statistics are fake. No one dies because everyone in America still gets heath care. Its against the law to turn anyone away. Stop copy and pasting false information on youtube fuck tard.

[MatchCard]

@cwood4ever Man this is confusing... who is telling the truth? Maybe once I get into college I'll learn to sniff out the facts...

[Lolicorez]

Of course the NHS is rationed, it's free. What do you expect? At least we have some form of free healthcare, rationed or not. It isn't like other countries are any better, most places require you to have insurance or to fork up for treatment, and that's an option over here for people that choose to do it anyway.

I'm happy with my options, thank you very much.

[noclaimsdiscount]

No-one is saying that the "plan" of the NHS (i.e. free healthcare for everyone) is bad and that we should switch to a private model. It's saying that the NHS is not being run even close to well ... it's being run by admin officers demanding budget cuts every year. I live in Aberdeenshire and the NHS has charged me more then £15,000 over the past five years for treatments. Theyve also killed 3 relatives and 2 friends. A "free" health service? My arse.

[rufust1975]

This message brought to you by a glorified price comparison website for (can you guess) insurance, that's healthcare insurance.

This is to unbiased reporting as a brick through a plate-glass window is to subtlety

[noclaimsdiscount]

The report was unbiased. We are not a price comparison website. We list insurers along with news (good and bad) on each and consumer reviews (good and bad). The rankings system we use is based on customer feedback. Yes we make money from advertising ... but we have less adverts than most main-stream newspapers and NONE on the news pages ... unlike most mainstream newspapers.

[krazykeys88]

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!!

Evil evil man, EVERYONE GET FREE HEALTH CARE YOU FUCKNG EVIL MAN!!! THEY SAVED MY FUCKING LIFE YOU BASTARD. Stop trying to steal me money you evil fucking fucking bastard you wvil man.

[richardcadbury]

@krazykeys88 UR AN EVIL CUNT. SEE MY POST ON THIS VIDEO

[pikmindoctor]

He's right about the dental care, most people go private for that, and government has taken serious criticism over it. I'm surprised about the cancer rates, although Britain (like the US) has growing obesity and alcohol problems.

However

In all other respects, I and most people I know strongly support the NHS. Both of my grandfathers have been saved from cancers, my dads girlfriend was saved from several aneurysms and my brother gets continuous care for serious skin infections

[tharlia]

well said guildfordmystic i'm with you, the nhs is not perfect but it is there ..

[noclaimsdiscount]

not where I live. if you turn up at accident and emergency past 6pm they send you home ... even if you have a rib sticking out (true story). i moved 50 miles north from my last hospital which had a large staff of translators for the large staff of non-fluent-in-english doctors. can you imagine the number of mistakes in that hospital?!?!

[guildfordmystic]

Yeah i often think when im waiting in a hospital

'if only the poor were denied access, id have been seen by now'

you're going to have to face the NHS has saved more lives than you could imagine. the level of care it offers everyone is not the best in the world, but it will offer everyone some level of care for nothing. people who want to pay for health care can still go private and avoid the waiting lists. But i think most people without that opportunity would rather wait 4 weeks than die.

[noclaimsdiscount]

Again, you didn't listen to the report. Not everyone gets the same level of care. Some NHS trusts fork out for cancer drugs, some don't. Some buy in dialysis machines, some hire 100 more administrators.

[guildfordmystic]

I heard, I just dont agree. So you believe reform, I believe my experience of the NHS. Please dont insinuate I ignored you. I never said it was perfect, but the plan you suggest is, at best, equally flawed.

[krazykeys88]

The devil is setting aside the hottest palces in hell for health care insurers.

YOUR system is based on ripping people off and charging them for what they already get for free. YOUR system is about maaking profit out of peoples suffering. I Love the NHS and will die to defned it from wvil vile leeches like you, you fucking evil bastards. HOW DARE YOU PUT A PRICE ON HUMAN LIFE!!!!!!! EVIL

[noclaimsdiscount]

The NHS has put a price on people's lives ... and it's a much lower valuation than health insurer's. Making money out of suffering? You probably think Funeral Homes are saints but Life Insurers are scum too. You seem to be forgetting that the NHS is a rip-off. The amount we pay in National Insurance vs the available treatment is far worse than the amount health insurers charge vs provided treatment.

[TiberJai]

so do insurers, are you paying the right amount for your treatments? If not no healthcare for you. Also in america they have your so called perfect insurance based system. But wait 48'000'000 uninsured people don't have healthcare as, their lifes aren't worth anything in your system as they arent paying for the middle man the insurance company. And those that have insurance may not be fully covered and if you have a chronic illness you pay thousands.

[KurNorock]

@TiberJai - Those 48million people do not have insurance for a reason. 15mil are illegal immigrants. roughly 10mil are college age people who simply do not want to pay for insurance until they are older. another 7 or 8mil are people wealthy enough that they pay out of pocket for medical treatment. All in all only 10mil or so people want insurance but can't afford it. but with the price of this stupid healthcare bill we could have just bought them al insurance for the rest of their lives.

[KurNorock]

@TiberJai - Our system is far from perfect too. I agree something should be done, like reformation. Allow insurance to compete across state lines, get rid of the employment provider regulations. TORT reform. Just these simple things would have reduced the cost of health insurance by 50% or more. And for the people who still could not afford it, there ARE options for them. Nobody is EVER denied treatment under the current system.

[hauskalainen]

Can you name ONE UK major private health insurance company that covers dialysis?

A company name and a telephone number in that company that can send me the policy terms.

Thanks.

[hauskalainen]

Are you telling us that there is even ONE NHS trust that does not meet the cost of any cancer drug therapies?

Name that Trust!!!!

[splitpawspeaks]

havn't seen a dentist for 2 years or more? I Have to get 1 tooth fixed a year with my private insurance + $250- $350 each time!. You are an asshat.

[believer2point0]

Whilst I agree that it's not necessarily nice in my situation, for example, that mental health treatment for personality disorders in my area is being 'rationed' as Mr McCarville claims, being as I am one of those individuals seeking such treatment, I would still rather be in a position where i can get swift treatment if my situation ever became critical, as opposed to systems like the US, where you can't even get to see a psychiatrist if you cannot afford it.

Case closed.

[JonnyBrotherJr]

This doesn't mean that we should change to a different Health Care System. The reason why a lot of Health care is inaccessible to a lot of people is because it's being privatised. Investment in the National Health Service rather than letting it dwindle into the private sector where no-one who isn't super-rich can afford it without selling their house and kids.

[richardcadbury]

I got fucked over by the NHS today.

I went to the GP to get some drugs, arriving 20 mins early as requested to fill in a form.

The form only asked for information they already had.

It took 1 minute to complete so I had a nice 19 minute wait.

The GP wrote me an e-prescription, and sent it to the internal dispensary.

I paid ABOVE market price, and they handed me a bag, containing by far too small a supply to last me long enough.

[richardcadbury]

Q: Could have more?

A: The GP was with the next patient, so that would require a new script, and a new appointment.

Q: Could they phone him?

A: No.

Q: I left long before my appointment slot was over; the next patient was on my time. Could I wait until he left and pop in quickly?

A: No.

[richardcadbury]

Q: Could I arrange a whole new appointment?

A: Earliest available in 4 days time.

Q: Could I have a printed script, to take the pharmacy down the road (pay a market price and support a small business)?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: Against policy.

Q: What policy? Why?

A: The drugs need to be used. (WTF?!!)

I left, dejected, with my pathetic supply of drugs, with hardly the energy to give the idiot the finger.

Personally, Id rather be fucked over by capitalism.