People always say “ look how bad the American model is” but it’s a ridiculous argument because there are so many health care systems that work well on our doorstep; France, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands to name a few!
Many of these systems have obligatory health insurance and the insurance companies are highly regulated by government and are non-profit-making. It’s totally different to the USA. Patients in these EU countries are means tested and they pay a reasonable fee to see the doctor which is something like €20-€30 and they are reimbursed for that money according to their income. This system ensures that the very poor and the disabled pay nothing, or next to nothing.
Of course taxes are higher to pay for it but what is more important than health? Everything else we do depends upon it; our family, our employment, our dc, our wellbeing, our ability to contribute to society, our productivity as a group of nations.
If people are charged reasonable means-tested sums for healthcare, they tend not to abuse the system so much by missing appointments or trashing A &E.
It also encourages people to take more responsibility for their health.
Plenty of people regularly pay out £100s and £1000s to pay vet fees for their pets, why therefore would it be so outrageous to charge £25 to see a doctor for ourselves, a good percentage of which is reimbursed?
It’s a bit of a skewed attitude isn’t it in the uk looking in from the outside? A multi-millionaire or someone earning £800,000 per year can rock up to A&E and be treated free of charge without contributing a cent?! Why should that be possible? Many patients who pay for private fancy hospitals to treat them get taken off to an NHS hospital if anything goes wrong with their operation. Who pays for that?
A Spanish friend of mine can’t believe our attitude in the UK; I can’t explain the phrases she uses very well, but she says it’s a question of pride, self -respect and personal responsibility that you look after your own health by contributing financially towards it. Like why wouldn’t you duh? It’s the most important thing to invest in?
It’s a fantastic aspiration to have free healthcare for all at souce but it’s no longer practicable, and government subsidised, heavily regulated obligatory insurance is the way to go, so that drug companies and private health care providers can’t exploit patients or dictate how things work with a purely commercial imperative.
I fear that the private - public systems in the UK have already been primed to go down the US route though sadly. And instead of having an integrated system for all, and access to the best doctors, equipment and hospitals for all, we are building a two-tier unjust system.
It’s true that people who pay higher taxes and pay for health care have less disposable income, but what’s more important, your health or that of your child, or buying new curtains?
Obviously there are those for whom the burden of cost would be too much, and in a properly subsidised system, they are protected and subsidised by those of us who can contribute.
Don’t tell me though when I see handbag threads on here, or discussions about what jumper to buy from Boden at £170 a pop, that there isn’t the money out there to pay reasonable fees for subsided, well regulated, and managed health care. We just have our priorities wrong.