This, I think, is a fair image of what some of our American cousins must have in mind, as the debate over US health-care gets more and more heated.
Now, what the hell does this have to do with me? I am not American, so therefore it is none of my business right? Well, apart from the fact that I don't like to see anyone dying and going bankrupt as a result of the lack of proper health care, my main reason for rushing into this discussion are the vitriolic, relentless and often downright vicious attacks on a certain British organisation. (UK NHS is 'Evil and Orwellian') The National Health Service.I, myself, am a Scot, and as many people know, there can be a great deal of division in the UK between Scots, English, Welsh and Irish on a variety of political, social and even religious matters. Despite these national divisions, I believe I can say with great certainty that there is one thing we all agree on without reservation: the value and sanctity of the NHS.
The NHS is one of those things that makes many people proud to be British. Indeed the NHS is held up as a symbol of all that is great with Great Britain.
Why? Well put simply, while we do have a class divide in the UK (we have 'posh bastards' and 'poor bastards' alike, many nations do), there is a moment when that line can and does blur. It happens in the Accident and Emergency room of an NHS hospital; it happens the moment you dial 999 for emergency treatment.If you are poor or if you are rich, an ambulance will arrive and speed you off to the nearest NHS hospital with equal alacrity. Once you get there, you will be treated with equal efficiency and once you are fixed up, you will be sent home with equal compassion and after care.
- At no time during this process are you ever required to have some kind of 'pre-approval' from a 3rd party (Insurance Company)
- At no time during this process are you ever asked to waste valuable time filling out forms to prove you have adequate insurance cover.
- At no time are you ever to fear that your insurance company might not meet the medical bills because they have discovered that you got beaten up by your husband.
- At no time will you have to worry that 'someone, somewhere' has actively began an investigation into finding a reason to deny your care, because they will get a bonus if they find one.
- You will never be billed and you will never be left behind.
The stats on Denials (Image to the right) lead me to firmly believe that there is no place for private 3rd party profiteering when it comes to my healthcare. This includes a government run company such as Medicare trying to compete on such a corrupt playing field.A recent attack on the British NHS and, by extension, all socialised systems came from the Investors Business Daily, who denounced the UK NHS by saying:
"People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K. where the National Health Service would say the quality of life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."
The IBD did of course issue a 'correction' after they were told that Professor Stephen Hawking is in fact British and received treatment by the NHS. However in this correction they go on to say:
"We also say that not everyone suffering from a debilitating disease is Stephen Hawking, and we hope our critics would acknowledge that. Hawking is a renowned theoretical physicist, university professor and best-selling author. It is doubtful any National Health Service bureaucrat would cut him off." Hawking personally replied that, "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," he said. "I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."
The comment section below IBD's 'correction' shows that many people are not entirely happy with IBD's interpretation of the subject. One commentator writes:
"The columnist's blunder is even worse than the critics have noted. My brother died in January after about 15 years of living with ALS. His death occurred after his health insurance (top of the line) was exhausted. My efforts to get the insurance carrier to extend coverage three more months to permit him to be around for the birth of his first grandchild, after which he was to be removed from his ventilator, were denied. This is the American system."
(Posted By: Dave R(5) on 8/17/2009 | 10:58 PM ET
Read the comments here before they remove it.)
Certainly no health system is 'perfect'. But as a citizen of this small planet, I believe that the NHS is one of the most moral and ethical systems; under it, turning patients into money making machines, would be unthinkable. The fact that the NHS does not have to compete for profit with others helps to make it the 'service-first' organisation that it is.
The NHS could of course be better, faster and more efficient. However the view that a private company is never wasteful and inefficient is insupportable. The only difference between the two, is that the private sector will simply hide their mistakes and wastefulness inside your bill and invoice, whereas a public option can't.The UK NHS may be a rather 'socialist' system but make no mistake, the UK economy is built on money. The UK remains the worlds 5th largest economy and the UK economic system is capitalist through and through; it depends on capitalist market forces to drive growth. The key difference between this Briton's point of view and that of many Americans seems to be that, in my opinion making profit is fine, until it interferes with essential services for the public good.
To quote a fellow Youtuber:
Dave Hyams : 21 years old.
Further reading: