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Monday, 05 April 2010 09:36 |
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Health care in the USA is expensive, but it is also consistently rated the highest in term of patient satisfaction. I think the main complaints with the NHS are not its costs, although there is a lot of waste driven by mismanagement, but that the standard of care is relatively low by the standards of the rest of the developed world.
The solution to these problems is always seen to be more funding, rather than oragnisational change, which is a pity, because having worked in the NHS it is clear that there is massive room for improved services without spending a penny more.
The people who actually count, the patients, are sidelined by the vested interests of politicians, doctors and nurses unions all pushing for what they think should be done to help their own members. Why do the patients have no voice and no control over what they are ultimately paying for through their taxes? It is a strange system indeed.
On the 46 million uninsured in the USA, it is simply not true that most of these people cannot afford health care. All but 8 million fall into the categories of either too young and healthy to need insurance, or simply preferring to pay it out their own pocket rather having an insurance policy.
It seems strange that some people would want to choose this option, but they do and I think they should be allowed to. The current reforms of health care by Obama have denied them the right to do so.
£360Bn in the USA roughly equals £1,200 per person annually
£110Bn in the UK (ref wheredoesmymoneygo.org) roughly equals £1700 per person annually.
The model of health care they have in the USA is expensive and less effective than our own, but that does not mean the NHS is some sacred cow that is above criticism or improvement.
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