people who say the NHS is free?

[Sallygoround631]

It isn't free. This is truly absurd. It is funded by us, and always has been.

I see this so often on MN, and in all seriousness too, as if it is a free gift the government give to us.
I've read more than one poster suggesting we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic if the MHS wan't 'free', and that the US healthcare system would benefit us!
WTAF?
Because the US has never had an obesity issue....

How can anyone of adult age in the uk think the NHS costs us nothing?
Christ, and you wonder why the government takes the piss.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget
“I think (as an NHS worker) that patients should know exactly how much a missed appointment costs the NHS .”

“ If they were told Missing your appointment costs the NHS £x”

My local hospital trust does. I hadn’t realised they didn’t all do it.

‘If they were told Missing your appointment costs the NHS £x’

I receive appointment letters from my local hospital which state that a missed appointment costs the NHS £173.

We all pay taxes - through income tax, other taxes, NI & VAT.

@NewYearSoon I am impressed that you received an automated text that offers an option to cancel by reply.

Our local hospital has a telephony & communications offer to cancel that is wholeheartedly incompetent. It is made as awkward as possible to cancel an appointment - out of date contact numbers, unanswered phones, depts not on the general booking system & more - irrespective of Covid prevention, so no wonder the DNAs mount up.

Council/social housing rents are pegged to the private rental rates.
So not always cheap & easily affordable.
Those on low income get housing benefit to help make the rent.

But we all know that.

How does the method in which the NHS is funded have anything to do with obesity? Is the theory that people would take greater responsibility for their health if they saw some direct costs?

There are posters up all over every hospital and GP surgery telling us what a missed appointment costs. Can't imagine there's a single person in the UK who doesn't know about this. I certainly had plenty of time to read four of them, repeatedly, last time I waited for 20 minutes at an empty reception desk (additional sign: if I am not here please wait here until I am available). Maybe they were intended to be an interesting distraction from the conversation reception staff were having about their local slimming club in the room two doors down. The rest of the patients standing alongside me didn't seem to think so though.

A woman on TV recently said she thought it was awful that members of the public funded food banks and that the Government should provide all the food the way they provide benefit money!
She clearly had no clue that benefits money was from taxes paid for by the public and the reporter didn’t put her right!

@UniversalAunt, I’m sorry it’s so hard for you to cancel an appointment and agree that must increase the number of DNAs.

Even on this thread there are already people who don’t realise non working people pay tax.

@pinkstripeycat
While the woman might be slightly wrong in her thinking but there is something seriously wrong in this countries benefits system that leaves people relying on food banks.
Why do we accept them as a thing, they didn't used to be a thing?

Maybe she meant people should be given a food package or food tokens that can only be spent on food.

Housing benefit doesn't really exist anymore its universal credit and the bonus of universal credit is that its easier to not pay your housing

See the thread where someone was refused emergency contraception? Told to go buy it otc?

The NHS isn't free this sort of thing happens often

219billion pounds annual, over 20% of the UK income of 1115 billion pounds for 2021. Not free & not good value for money. www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-public-spending-was-calculated-in-your-tax-summary/how-public-spending-was-calculated-in-your-tax-summary

To clarify that is the amount of money spent on funding the NHS in 2021. Quite astounding amount of money

[quote Backofthenet20]219billion pounds annual, over 20% of the UK income of 1115 billion pounds for 2021. Not free & not good value for money. www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-public-spending-was-calculated-in-your-tax-summary/how-public-spending-was-calculated-in-your-tax-summary[/quote]
In what way is the NHS not good value for money, as you claim?

It's free at the point of use, and people do not pay the direct cost of their treatment. Some people get way more out of the NHS than they put in, and anybody can be treated, even if they have no money at the time of their treatment. This is usually what people mean when they say it is "free". It feels free because you don't pay to access the NHS when you need it, you pay centrally along with other services.

Oh come on, everyone knows how the NHS is funded. We all know what "free at the point of use" means, and we're all familiar with the basic function of taxation and public spending. You wouldn't take this much issue with someone saying that their education was free, would you? The faux outrage on this thread is bizarre.

If you compare to other countries, for example Canada, the amount spent on health is comparable per person but the service levels are significantly better than the UK.

The fact that it's 'free' stops people from expecting better.

I live in Europe now and I can't believe how bad the NHS is compared to health care in the Netherlands. Example: need to have an investigative ultrasound. Went to the GP who referred me to hospital. Before I had the chance to arrange the appointment the hospital already called me. I was able to schedule around my working hours. If I wanted I could have had the appointment the next day.

Back in England a letter with an appointment would just show up.

@ToothGrinder

Yes it's free and they're all heroes and we should all be grateful we're not dead.

I like this.

It’s free at the point of use.

But you know that’s what people mean.

It is free to use though, like it’s free to go to school and free to walk down the streets that someone has built and continues to maintain.
It’s probably too simplistic, but if the NHS wasn’t free at the point of use, obesity might improve for some people who would worry about having to pay for diabetes management, hip and knee replacements and cardiac drugs. But other people would avoid seeking help in the first place, so would likely have a worse quality of life and would die early.

If it wasn't for others contributing through NI

This is another common misconception: that National Insurance contributions go into a specific pot to fund pensions, healthcare, unemployment benefits, etc. They don't, any more than vehicle excise duty goes into a specific "road fund". All taxes (and NI is a tax, not an insurance scheme) go into the same pot.

We also have to pay for our prescriptions. Most of us do anyway.

It is free for those that don’t pay any taxes, health care has no connection to your ability to pay, if you live on benefit in social housing you get exactly the same service as those of us the have paid tax since we were 16 yrs old and paid a mortgage for decades

Now dh is a high earner and lays loads of Tax and NI and indirect taxation as do I.
However we are both eternally grateful for the NHS as we have long term health conditions.
We both pay for prescriptions, Eye care and dental Treatment etc but at nominal rates.
My dh is on an injectable which would cost thousands a year and my Treatment would be 60 dollars a pop on average in USA.