Apparently if the NHS is privatised we wont have to pay for medicine.

[malificent7]

So says my Tory dad. Is he right?

And Purchase Tax was higher than VAT has ever been.

But purchase tax was on a lot fewer things than VAT. We also had the unilateral power to vary purchase tax rates and applicability, which we do not under VAT.

The Tories support the NHS.

Well that's given me a much needed laugh...

Here (Channel Islands) GP visit is £50, ambulance is over £100 (though you can get an annual subscription for a lot less)

A&E costs money (can't remember how much).

Smears cost money, can't recall exactly, around £40-50?

Medical specialists your GP has referred you to are free, scans and childbirth is free, being flown to England for important stuff is free, prescriptions cost about the same as in England.

Don't do it Britain, I've lived in the UK and the US and the US private healthcare sucks large donkey testicles. There is one medication I use, it cost me ten times the amount in the US as it did when I filled it in the UK on holiday. Same brand, same dose etc.

That appendicitis bill is not unusual... and that is reasonably good private insurance too.

I had a friend who couldn't afford private medical insurance, her work didn't subsidise it and she wasn't poor enough to get state insurance. She went for a year with an ear infection because even though she was working full time she couldn't afford to get it sorted.

I considered putting off a serious operation for a couple of months because that way it would be at the beginning of the year and it would help pay my deductible for the rest of the year. Also one time I suspected DS may have broken his ankle, we put off going to the hospital for 24 hours to see if the swelling went down because I knew it would cost me about $500.

"She went for a year with an ear infection because even though she was working full time she couldn't afford to get it sorted.

I considered putting off a serious operation for a couple of months because that way it would be at the beginning of the year and it would help pay my deductible for the rest of the year. Also one time I suspected DS may have broken his ankle, we put off going to the hospital for 24 hours to see if the swelling went down because I knew it would cost me about $500."

...This is a major factor in why the overall costs per person for healthcare in countries like the US is higher than in the UK.

If treatment is free at the point of delivery, we seek help much sooner. When there is a charge (even if it is a low one) those on tight budgets put off seeking treatment, to the extent where it often ends up costing much more due to the complications that arise.

Squishy That is rubbish - US healthcare (which is a shit system) costs more because of litigation and over-treatment.
Morgan Spurlock, for example, made a film, 30 days, about living on minimum wage. He got a manual job, digging 7 hours a day. After a week his wrist started hurting and was slightly swollen.

1. A sensible person would have realized it was related to unaccustomed manual labour and waited for it to heal.
2. An anxious UK person would have gone to the GP and been told to wait for it to heal.
3. A US insured person (Spurlock) got MRI scans (among other stuff) and was told it was a strain and wait for it to heal.

Costs:

1. Nothing
2. £50
3. $4,000

Those saying if private companies are no good, complaints will get the contracts removed, need to read up on the Circle fiasco at the Nottingham Eye Clinic.

This clinic was recognised nationally as providing a brilliant and very specialised service. It was privatised and taken over by Circle. It now can barely provide the level of care that you get at any eye clinic anywhere in the country. It has been a total disaster and has moved from an outstanding specialist service, to one barely functioning. And no Circle still have the contract.

Private healthcare isn't free. But there are very few patients in private hospitals in the UK who are footing the bill themselves. Most of us who have been treated privately have health insurance, either provided through an epmloyer or which we pay for ourselves. (if your employer pays for it, you are taxed on that too.)

I had a fairly major operation privately last year. I had three nights in hopsital. Prior to the operation I had two appointments with the consultant, an ultrasound, a MRI and an admission appointment. I had another appointment 6 weeks after surgery and two sessions of physio as an outpatient. I was never presented with a bill. The hospital dealt directly with my insurer who paid for everything. All I paid for was the policy excess - £100. I was discharged from hospital with loads of painkillers and surgical stockings and wasn't charged for those either.

The surgeon who did the op and the anaesthetist both work in the NHS too. The enivironment in the hospital was far, far nicer. I could choose appointments to suit me rather than taking what was given. I had time to discuss options with the surgeon. And the food was amazing.

I'm a massive fan of teh NHS but this NHS=good and private=bad just doesnt stack up.

But you only had a good experience because you have an employer willing to pay the insurance bills. Very different if you have to pay for medical insurance yourself.

...Wouldn't private healthcare insurance go up if there was less free healthcare provision?
For a start, you would need an expanded policy, and also there would be an increase in claims made against the policy. (I used to have private healthcare provided by my employer, never used it once, but probably would have done if the NHS wasn't there).
As we know, insurance premiums go up when claims increase.

Does he not get the concept of insurance?

Plus, it astounds me how people talk about the free NHS. We paid in our contributions. It is not free. And I'd take bets that we'll not get lower taxes if/when they sell it all off to their mates, they'll just redirect our taxes to propping up other failed businesses (rail anyone?!)

Carol: I said it was A reason. The reasons you highlighted apply to. depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? If someone has coverage and they are a bit of an over reactor situations like your example apply - where healthcare providers leap at the opportunity to charge insurers inflated rates for something that didn't really need treatment.
If someone does not have coverage, they may well ignore that persistence cough/weird mole/fainting spells until they find themselves rushed to hospital as an emergency case.

The poster above my post gave some examples of where she put off going to hospital due to the costs, so it obviously does happen!

Macarena: The people I know (purely anecdotally) who have used private healthcare recently have been elderly and wealthy, and paid for it directly rather than through insurance. It worked out very well for them - I have nothing against people using private healthcare, but I want to see our NHS well funded as well.

Squishy around 75% of all GP and A&E visits are unnecessary and the condition will go away on its own accord. In 2011, there were 5.1m visits for blocked noses (due to colds) and 40,000 for dandruff.
Most issues go away or can be treated over the counter.

There probably is a sick plan to give us free privatised health care just to get it through the door. Make people think it will all be ok. Then BAM after a v short period of time.... Oh dear all you sick people you need to cough up ££££ - oh dear. You cant afford it? Tough shit.

In a way this is well on its way already.

Badabunny - brown/Blair did not grow defecit in 'boom' years - go look at UK gov stats. Summary here:

Pretty much the opposite... And I'm not a labour voter....

Brasty...can you link to the Circle fiasco. All I could find was GOOD CQC rating and 98% score on Friends and family test

I apologise, it was not the eye clinic, but the dermatology clinic privatisation that was a disaster. It is because they failed to understand that when you are dealing with highly specialist staff, they have a choice about where they work.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-33007103

this was another link at the end of that article which I found quite balanced and informative on the issues.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31435842

Labour may not have grown the deficit on paper, but they spent a fortune on off-balance sheet PFI, which would have shown a different picture. they should also have paid off more debt. (and not caused the banking crisis)

Oh carol love you'ryou're scraping the barrel with your desperate comment, particularly and not caused the banking crisis
Bless.

Exploded why was there no banking crisis outside UK, US, Ireland, Spain and Iceand. there are 178 countries in the world, a banking crisis in 5 is not a global issue.
Entirely caused by wrong regulation, linked to the move to CPI, removing housing costs from inflation indicators, thus keeping interest rates too low for too long.
Choose not to believe it -we will need IMF support before 2020 if Corbyn wins.

Can you please tell your Dad that I have a wonderful palace in London which I can sell him for a price of a three-bedroom house?

Macarena, you described a great situation but you can't apply it everywhere.
I live in Ireland.
€60 -GP visit
€45 - DD's GP visit
dentist - small amount deductible but most payable by yourself
private consultant (or waiting for public and free for at least a year) - €180
excess on hospital stays
examinations such as CT or MRI - free because I pay €135 per month for my private insurance
this insurance isn't paid by the employer although I can have it deducted from my wages before taxation.
I get 50% of my expenses back because that's the plan I'm on. There's no private hospital in Ireland for children but there are private consultants who prioritise private patients so I'm keeping DD on my insurance for that.
Anyone who supports the NHS privatisation is more than welcome to the world of the Irish healthcare system.