To feel sorry for American's as their healthcare system appears abysmal

[Wowthishurtsalot]

I'm a member of a support group for a health condition I have which is fairly rare, this support group attracts a global network of posters who draw on it for support and advice.

The American posters almost all have the same complaints:
'My insurance won't cover a referral to the right specialists'

'My insurance only covers one prescription a month so I have to pick and choose which attack I use it on' (the condition can mean you'll have several attacks or flares a month)

'I've had to quit work, I have no insurance and therefore no meds'

'My insurance doesn't cover/considers these meds non essential'

It's appalling. Its a condition that renders its sufferers in hospital several times a year but with the right medication can be managed. It can, in its extreme form, kill or trigger a life changing side effect.

How does that country function?! I Really count my blessings and am so grateful for the NHS when I speak to american sufferers or carers. AIBU?

[Downamongtherednecks]

It's pretty bad here in the US for some people. A neighbour of mine has a $600,000 medical debt she can never pay off, as her insurance maxed out on her heart condition and she now has no insurance left. I have friends in the pharma industry who tell me they have a separate, inflated price structure for the US. The Shriners (a bit like rotarians) run children's hospitals and have days where families take their uninsured, chronically ill or dying children to "interviews" to see if the shriners will accept them for treatment. It still shocks me, in such a rich country. But it's seen as normal here.

[Serenitysutton]

I will leave leave this country because I wouldn't leave the NHS. Far too scared of what I might end up with. The NHS isn't perfect but I feel lucky and grateful to have it

[Serenitysutton]

Ha, that's supposed to say I will never leave this country

[Anotheronebitthedust]

For those who wanted to compare against other EU models rather than the US, a very recent study (including Netherlands, France, Germany,etc in addition to US, Canada, Aus) still put the NHS on top out of 11 of the world's richest countries

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/17/nhs-health

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/uks-healthcare-ranked-the-best-out-of-11-western-countries-with-us-coming-last-9542833.html

[Serenitysutton]

Also I watched a friend recently trying to arrange a operation in South Africa through his insurance. Beaucratic nightmare

[CheerfulYank]

My insurance in the US was better when I was poor.

And a week's stay for a birth is not normal at all!

Obamacare is not the same as the NHS . It is not free. Our insurance is more expensive now.

We do have OB's doing the births here, but I loved mine. I gave birth in a tiny hospital that only gets a few births a month so the nurses fought to take care of me and DD. Large private room with a bed for DH and a private bathroom with a big tub with jets. And a dietician who called me from the grocery store to ask what kind of gluten free bread I liked best. :o

[scousadelic]

faster It is ironic that the people who pay for prescriptions tend to get the cheapest drugs (like painkillers or antibiotics) as they are generally healthy. I'm not sure that simply pricing things is the answer either but we somehow need to drum into people that the NHS does cost money. We often have carrier bags full of expensive medication returned for disposal when people die / go into care / medicines change. I wonder if a flat rate small charge (say £1) for every prescription item might just make people think before ordering stuff they don't need but I don't know.
A lot of patients can be very demanding and do not see that their misuse and wastage takes money that could be used for other people.

I still think, on the whole, the NHS is the better system but it is struggling to maintain the service

[maddening]

I think america's health system and the average american's attitude to sick peopls who cannot afford care is a disgrace - to have people dying or in pain from illnesses for which there is treatment is a shame on america.

[CiderwithBuda]

I know nothing is perfect but agree that the NHS is pretty good. I'm irish so know that system too.

MIL's nephew is in the US. He needs back surgery as a result of issues dating back to cancer f the spine in his teens. His insurance won't cover the surgery as the particular procedure has been performed for less than ten years so is not on their approved list. His surgeon offerd to do it for free. But the hospital costs are prohibitive even with the surgeon not charging. So they researched and the specialist who pioneered the procedure is in Germany. He is offering to operate for free too. They now have a fund raising page to raise th funds to get hm there and for the hospital costs etc. He is desperate for the surgery as he is in a lot of pain and can't work. He is in his forties nw with three children and needs to work. And wants to. He now has to travel to Germany and be away from his family just because the insurance won't pay for a viable procedure. Madness.

[Suzannewithaplan]

notice how we are all being maneuvered into focusing on health problems which can labelled as self inflicted.
A precursor to a situation where those who don't fit the official criteria for healthy living are regarded as undeserving?

How long before those whose health problems can be fitted into the self inflicted category are denied free treatment?

[CatWitch]

I live in the US and love the health care here. I can see my MD on the same day I need an appointment. My husband and I have both had very expensive healthcare issues in the past three years, totally covered by our insurance. We can see any specialist we choose at anytime for any reason. Anytime we have been hospitalised we have had private rooms with excellent food service. I would hate to be anywhere but in the US in a medical emergency.

[CheerfulYank]

Maddening the "average" American has nothing but compassion for sick people that cannot afford care. That is why medicaid, etc, exists.

Cider if you don't mind, please PM me the link to the fund raiser, I would be happy to donate and share the page for others to do so on FB etc.

[HowsTheSerenity]

Medicare (here in Oz) seems to becoming more and more like the American system all thanks to lovely PM. HMO's are becoming the norm.
If you are very rich you are fine as you have private health insurance. If you are a low income earner then it's subsidised. It's those in the middle who are screwed.
Everything that happens in a public hospital is free.
If you hold a health care card then your gp appointments are free and medication is highly subsidised. Everyone else pays about $35 per appointment and minimally subsidised medication.
However a lot of people have private health insurance. As an adult you need it for dental and optical services as Medicare is useless.

[SconeRhymesWithGone]

I agree that there are major problems with our health care system. I support the Affordable Care Act, but it does not go far enough. But I agree with Cheerful's statement that "the 'average' American has nothing but compassion for sick people that cannot afford care. That is why medicaid, etc, exists."

I would add to that non-profits and other charities that support patients who need assistance.

I was a patient of the NHS when I was a student in Scotland; it was a few years ago so I can't speak from recent experience, but I was very happy with the whole experience and had excellent care. I would like to see us move toward a more socialized model in the US.

[however]

I think that every country has a fundamental obligation to make sure it's citizens, you know, don't die unnecessarily or be left destitute because of crippling health costs. The US is terrible at that.

[GinIsCalling]

Living in America has taught me a few things regarding healthcare.
The first is that the NHS is AMAZING, no doubt about it.
The second is that it gets taken for granted (I know I didn't understand what it was worth). I think if people had to pay a minimal fee to see a doctor (£10 for working adults perhaps) they would appreciate the doctor's time a lot more. I think people should also get an end of year breakdown of the cost of their NHS treatment - they might appreciate it a lot more if they realised what it was worth.
Another is that one of the most noticeable benefits of private healthcare is that it seems everyone gets paid a good living wage, and there are enough staff. So the nurses are always polite and happy to help and don't seem overworked, doctors have time to actually sit with you on their rounds and take note of what you are saying, appointments are never rushed, and receptionists are smiley and welcoming. Those sound like small things, but make a big difference to healthcare, esp when you are feeling unwell. I do understand why NHS staff seem so busy/stressed though - they are overworked and underpaid! But it is nice to have a pleasant experience when interacting with medical staff.
The last thing my friends don't seem to realise is that if you have good insurance the healthcare over here in america is amazing. We have great health insurance paid for by our work, means we pay nothing towards it but access the very best services. HOWEVER the NHS is far superior - i have lived here for a long time now and still get very angry and upset at seeing homeless people with obvious mental illnesses roaming the streets - they need help, but are just moved on. They need the NHS. So much better that everyone gets acceptable care, rather than a few get exceptional care!!

[sashh]

and the USA patients that can pay get great care, above and beyond the UK

Do you mean above and beyond the NHS? What happens if you compare it to going private in the UK.

[JingleSpud]

I have a friend who lives out in the US. Hes now had to take on a second job to support his family and afford healthcare insurance thanks to Obamacare

[SurfsUp1]

Shebird I think the week in hospital is seen as one of the perks. i.e. lots of bf support - waiting until your milk comes in etc.
I agree the NHS is absolute gold by comparison, but I think being sent home soon after birth is one of the NHS's shortcomings rather than a strength.

[GatoradeMeBitch]

Hmm. I have a thyroid problem and an ongoing neck injury. The NHS has provided me with abysmal care for one, and offered no help whatsoever with the other, except 'Buy a supportive pillow, go and see my friend's wife, she's an odteopath.'

I'm sure the NHS is great with broken limbs and cancer, or I hope they are anyway, but they fall horrendously short in some areas. And apparently a two tier system is soon to come in, where richer people can queue-jump past us plebs. So there will be private healthcare, paid-for NHS care, and the poor folk get whatever is left. I don't see that we have a system to be envious of. Not anymore.

[BoomBoomsCousin]

It's not well known, but the US government spending on health care isn't that far off the UK's. They spend nearly 5% of GDP on programs like Medicare, the UK spends about 7.7% of GDP on the NHS, given that their per capita GDP is about a third higher than ours that means they spend, on average, nearly as much per person on health care as the UK does. It's not universal, so where they are paying out, they are paying out a lot more than the UK. US residents also fund most of their own healthcare through insurance on top of that.

The big problem with the USA's healthcare system isn't that they don't spend on it, but that the market there has been allowed to become ridiculously distorted by health insurance, legal liability and restrictions on the market place. Obamacare has, unfortunately, done little to tackle these structural deficiencies and so healthcare costs are astronomical.

If the costs of healthcare in the USA were similar to European countries, the situation in the USA would not be so dire for anyone their and there would probably be a lot more support for covering the costs of even more people.

[Suzannewithaplan]

That's pretty much my understanding of the situation Boomboom, the problem is not lack of resources it's extremely inefficient use of resources.

[Suzannewithaplan]

there is enough to go around, it's just very badly shared out :(

[PigletJohn]

The US system is particularly bad. Spend on healthcare is very high, but outcomes are not, as you might expect, especially good.

I am told that neonatal deaths in US are worse than in much poorer countries, such as Cuba and Serbia; and also that most personal bankruptcies are driven by huge hospital bills.

The lobby-driven political opposition to state-funded healthcare in the US is very curious to inhabitants of RoW, although the vested interests making a lot of money out of it don't want a change. I have even seen it described as "Socialised Medicine" as if it is some Stalinist collectivisation scheme. I sometimes ask if these people object to a Socialised police force, or a socialised fire service, or socialised street-lighting.

[Suzannewithaplan]

With health there is an inherent conflict of interest, long term illness benefits those who profit from treating it...theyfunction as a cancer on society ?