“I think if we were in charge between us we could come up with a fair system.”

The areas where the NHS is weakest, and you would be advised to pay if you can are probably physiotherapy and dentistry. In all cases it’s not that the anything about the facilities or people is poor (same standard either way), simply that there are long waiting lists. We don’t have a quick fix for this.

There isn’t a significant gap between rich and poor for most medical services. Most of the differences that exist are not caused by funding – e.g. it’s hard to get GPs to work in deprived inner cities regardless of the country you’re in. The notion of going bankrupt because you got sick would be anathema in the UK – the NHS is actually very popular and if anything people expect it to cover more rather than less.

Although I realise that there is a difference between state, federal and local governments in the States, I sort of don’t get it. Here in England at least local and central government are not differentiated in people’s minds in the same way. I think it’s a bit different in Scotland which has 3 tiers of government and hates interference from Westminster.

I think if we were in charge between us we could come up with a fair system. I am not as wedded to the completely free NHS as most of my compatriots are. I am certain that everyone (in the whole wide world) should have access to affordable healthcare, and there are many things that work out cheaper free (or nominal cost) in the long run – mostly because no one really lets people just die in the streets.

In reference to your point about emergency personel being socialized – there are a number of differences between the two, but the primary distinction is the issue of what is appropriate for local, state and federal governments. Your local fire department, adminstrated and funded locally is generally a good thing and every city sets up a department that fits their needs. Frankly, I am in favor of locally run schools, hospitals and just about everything else. When I speak of government control, I am primarily referring to federal control, which in our country is almost always a bad thing.

In reference to your point about paying for your own medical care – proponents of national health care in the US are specifically trying to remove the “gap” between the rich and poor when it comes to health care. It sounds like your system does not do this.

How does the UK system compare with the
Canadian health care system? Because we here almost nothing good about health care north of the border. Just one example – my brother in law, who is Canadian, had to wait three months in order to have a broken finger examined by a doctor.

In the United States, anytime a service is federalized, the quality goes down and corruption shoots up. Some examples: education, road maintenance, social security, and more.

I’m not sure which countries you are citing in general, but here in the UK you are always welcome to pay for your own treatment instead of using the NHS if you wish to do so. You can get any approved drugs (like the equivalent of FDA approved) if you are willing to pay for them. The decision whether to have tests is also up to the individual.

In pregnancy you will be routinely offered ultrasound, and possibly CV or amniocentesis in much the same way that you would in the US, and there are similar take up rates. I don’t know of anywhere where termination is compelled in any circumstances. In many European countries (who all have socialised medical systems) the pro-life lobby is as strong as (but less violent than) the US, and there are several countries where termination is illegal.

I fail to understand why it’s acceptable to have a socialised fire service, but not a socialised medical service. Perhaps it’s because a fire might affect your property, but my heart attack is an emergency only to me.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you choose to fund healthcare as long as everyone has access to affordable heathcare. I think that the current US system makes starting a business particularly difficult which I find ironic.

It is possible that your company is actually lobbying Congress to pass nationalized health care since it could save your company a great deal of money.