Health insurance costs surged in 2011

Originally posted by alldaylong
reply to post by David9176

 

Health Care in the UK............FREE to all (That includes anyone who falls ill when visiting the UK)

That's great that its free, except that its not free. You're still paying for it, just not at the 'point of sale'. You have to consider that US tax rates are also lower than those in the UK. There's a reason why you guys are paying twice as much for a gallon of gas, not to mention that 20% national VAT tax.

Originally posted by camaro68ss

Originally posted by alldaylong
reply to post by David9176

 

Health Care in the UK............FREE to all (That includes anyone who falls ill when visiting the UK)

well in america i pay, BUT, im seen instently! x-rays, cat scans, MRI's done in 10 min, blood work taken in 2 min, you name it it's done fast. do you have that in the UK?

As an American who lived in the UK for 2.5 years...yes, they do.

And I've sat in an empty US ER for 2 hours to see a doctor for 10 minutes to yell me he can't do anything and charge me $300 for the privilege.

Originally posted by vor78

Originally posted by alldaylong
reply to post by David9176

 

Health Care in the UK............FREE to all (That includes anyone who falls ill when visiting the UK)

That's great that its free, except that its not free. You're still paying for it, just not at the 'point of sale'. You have to consider that US tax rates are also lower than those in the UK. There's a reason why you guys are paying twice as much for a gallon of gas, not to mention that 20% national VAT tax.

If someone is born with a severe handicap and cannot work there health care is looked after FREE of charge. If they cannot work then they don't pay tax. Therefore they make no contribution for their health care.

reply to post by centurion1211


Actually you are right, because nowhere in the health care or obama care is specific regulations that will control the prices in health insurance, actually look what is happening in Massachusetts, people can not afford the out of pockets expenses and co pays because the loopholes in their mandatory health are.

The state at this time is "still reviewing the complains" how many years already?

With Obamacare if the insurance monopoly do not get you with their darn prices they will get you with the co pays and out of pocket expenses.

reply to post by alldaylong


That *may* be true in that particular case. I'm not sure if a disabled UK citizen has a waiver of all taxes or if it only applies to income taxes. If its the latter, they're still paying taxes such as that VAT tax. Still, it doesn't matter. Its not really free, because someone most certainly IS paying for it, and that someone is the UK taxpayer.

reply to post by vor78


Different countries spend the monies gathered in tax on different things. Some spend it on defense, some on infrasrtucture,", some on healthcare etc etc. Here in the UK we have a good balance of taxation expenditure. on those and other things. I am happy.with the system as are the majority of British tax payers. After all you also pay tax in the US. How much of it goes into healtcare?

Originally posted by alldaylong
After all you also pay tax in the US. How much of it goes into healtcare?

Way more than you might think. The 2010 federal budget allocated $793 billion to Medicare and Medicaid. I can only imagine what that number would be if it applied to everyone. Our government does absolutely nothing with any degree of cost efficiency.

I'm not arguing whether one way is better, just that the UK system isn't free. Its paid for through taxes rather than at the point where the services are delivered.

reply to post by vor78


Again.........It is Free because not everyone pay's tax for various reasons. If people can't work for whatever reason they still get healtcare on an equal basis to those who do work and pay tax. Also when someone retires and stops paying tax they still get the same degree of healtcare.

reply to post by alldaylong


No, even in those cases, its not truly 'free'. Those individual recipients may be exempt from paying taxes to support it, but the UK's taxpayers as a whole most certainly take up the slack.

reply to post by vor78


Let me give you further examples:-

If an asylum seeker lands in Britain and immediatly falls ill and has to spend months in hospital then all his medical care is taken care of free of charge. He has never worked or payed tax in the UK

If you as a US citizen are a visitor on holiday in the UK and you fall ill and are hospitalized for weeks then all your healtcare would be taken care off free of charge.

If that is not FREE then i don't know what is.

reply to post by alldaylong


I'm not speaking of the individual, but of UK society. Sure, as a US citizen, I might not owe anything if I had a heart attack while visiting the UK and was laid up in the hospital for a month, but the UK government most certainly would have to reimburse the hospital, the nurses and doctors, and the medical drug and equipment manufacturers for their time, goods and services provided in my treatment.

The UK government would get that money to pay for my treatment from the UK taxpayers. In that sense, it is not free.