eLuSiVeMiTe
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No.
It's capitalism.
You can't put a concern on the open market then complain about who decides to buy it.
They still have to abide by the same rules as every other surgery
- Thread starter skotl
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It's capitalism.
You can't put a concern on the open market then complain about who decides to buy it.
They still have to abide by the same rules as every other surgery
Exactly.! privatizing the NHS slowly while people are being told its safe in their hands. stealth!
From the Cambridge Dictionary.
stealth
noun [ U ]
uk
/stelθ/ us
/stelθ/
movement that is quiet and careful in order not to be seen or heard:
She moved across the field with the stealth of a cat on the prowl.
These thieves operate with terrifying stealth - they can easily steal from the pockets of unsuspecting travellers.
the quality of carrying an action out secretly, so that people do not know it is happening:
It would seem that some politicians would prefer to use financial stealth rather than legislation to produce change.
The weapons had been acquired by stealth.
eLuSiVeMiTe
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How can you privatise something that's already been privatised?
It's just new management.
Here comes the new boss same as the old boss.
Screwed anyway
The country has spoken. They obviously didn't pay any attention to the behaviour of the powers that be over the last few years
You need an ambulance in the US - you will get charged for it. Even if you have insurance - you have to pay an "excess" (I think they term it "deductable"). So, you pay it, pay for your treatment, get sent home . . . on the way home, you get clobbered again - not your fault, but you need an ambulance. This time, the excess is higher, as you've already had one claim . . .
You will see private ambulance companies, seemingly in random places - end of ribbon malls etc. Not to sure if they all get notified, and all race to the scene . . . first up, best dressed etc . ..
I know I had one of my guys needed treatment in a previous life - we had to fill forms in, sit and wait while they checked, double checked, more forms, more signatures . . .
I'm pretty lucky - work has all covering insurance, which seems to work pretty well - ie its not from Dan down the road, its with a big name in the US.
You will see private ambulance companies, seemingly in random places - end of ribbon malls etc. Not to sure if they all get notified, and all race to the scene . . . first up, best dressed etc . ..
I know I had one of my guys needed treatment in a previous life - we had to fill forms in, sit and wait while they checked, double checked, more forms, more signatures . . .
I'm pretty lucky - work has all covering insurance, which seems to work pretty well - ie its not from Dan down the road, its with a big name in the US.
skotl
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I had severe food poisoning while working in Boston. Got a taxi to the ER and had to sit in the waiting room for two hours while they verified my work insurance with Amex, doubled over in pain.
The receptionist eventually said "that's your insurance cleared - a nurse will see you now".
daleyd
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I know of a very similar story- a French work colleague was in the states for a job at Chicago Tribune newspaper - he was undergoing a course of chemo for leukaemia at the time but generally "well". While over there he took a turn for the worse (I don't know the exact details other than he had to go to to hospital) and was left in the waiting room for quite some time without being seen until his insurance was sorted.
gaz1
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dont have to look far to find it either
2013
Doctors cry foul at NHS 'privatisation by stealth'
Leaked letter from top medical body reveals contract fears, putting health minister Lord Howe under pressure to rewrite rules
www.theguardian.com
2021
The NHS is being privatised by stealth under the cover of a pandemic | Andrew Fisher
The UK government is embedding private providers at the heart of the health service, says Andrew Fisher, Labour’s former executive director of policy
www.theguardian.com
skotl
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Not sure if anyone still wants to try to defend the notion that the U.S. has a fair and equitable healthcare system, but here's a horrifying article that highlights the costs that even well-insured people are incurring.
The first person mentioned was a cardiologist who was actually caring for pandemic victims until he succumbed from the virus. He had medical insurance (what U.S. doctor wouldn't?) and presumably knew what he was buying, yet his family are still being billed eight months after he died for $400,000 of bills that his insurance will not cover.
Family Accrued More Than $400,000 In Coronavirus Medical Bills (jezebel.com)
This is part of a larger article by the NY Times, so it's simply one example of many, many patients who have incurred huge debt due to coronovirus medical care.
There really is zero comparison between the U.S. system and the British one. Thankfully.
The first person mentioned was a cardiologist who was actually caring for pandemic victims until he succumbed from the virus. He had medical insurance (what U.S. doctor wouldn't?) and presumably knew what he was buying, yet his family are still being billed eight months after he died for $400,000 of bills that his insurance will not cover.
Family Accrued More Than $400,000 In Coronavirus Medical Bills (jezebel.com)
This is part of a larger article by the NY Times, so it's simply one example of many, many patients who have incurred huge debt due to coronovirus medical care.
There really is zero comparison between the U.S. system and the British one. Thankfully.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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I guess it depends how you define fair doesn't it?
skotl
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Nope - I don't think it does. That said, I may have been tautological when I said "fair and equitable" as I expect fair to imply equitable.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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Fair is a subjective concept...whats fair to one person may not be fair to another.
I do not think our system is sustainable (obesity/ageing population etc)...hope I'm wrong but I think tough times are coming our way!
Why is it not sustainable?
No its not.
GP's are private, always have been from the very foundation of the NHS.
An American company owning one or even a number of them makes no difference.
GP Funding And Contracts Explained | The King's Fund
This explainer sets out how general practices are contracted and paid in England, looking at the services they are contracted to deliver, and the different streams of funding they receive.
www.kingsfund.org.uk
northwest
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I think you are right.
I lived and worked in the US for a good number of years, one of the very best times of my life. However, the healthcare was always the sword of Damocles. I have many examples here are a few:
On the way past Fort Lauderdale Hospital, seen from the Freeway a sign lit up saying A&E waiting times were just 7 minutes. Why? because nobody can get in without the correct paperwork. A friend of mine working at that hospital (medical doctor) said the patients would show up with their leg wrapped in duct tape rather than an ambulance: minimum $1500
A close friend has lived with his partner for thirty years and has not divorced as he and his (still) wife have an arrangement, she has gold plated medical insurance through her job with the city which covers her and her family.
You cannot get (not that any of us blokes actually could) inter uterine contraceptive devices of any kind in the US. Too many assault claims, nobody will fit one.
The biggest snag with US healthcare is the sheer volume and size of the Medical claims and awards, this is now filtering through to here in the UK. One of the biggest contributors to the cost of US healthcare is the size of the indemnity premiums the medical professionals pay. A vicious circle. At some point someone will realise money does not just "appear", it has to come from somewhere. Here in the UK the sheer volume of waste in the NHS is now starting to tear holes in the fabric, many people laud the NHS as being our saviour during the recent pandemic. Scratch beneath the surface though and you will see an organisation in disarray and crisis, hemorrhaging cash at a rate I struggle to comprehend. It cannot continue as there is no bottomless pit and people are unwilling to work for free.
I don't know what the answer is but it does really frighten me.
Separately, people who work and do not pay National Insurance and little or no tax are NOT criminals. That label is unhelpful and derogatory. I employ a young chap on the books part time and he pays no NI or tax. It is a very small part time role and his wage does not attract any of the above. I wish I could employ him more but the job won't stand it. He gets a wage slip at the end of the month and everything is clearly listed.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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Of course I wish it was sustainable....but it's based on intergenerational cross subsidy which sort of relies on a stable population....UK birth rates since 1972 are anything but stable!
What we have is an ageing population and rising obesity...
addjunkie
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This is a product of improved medical process and diagnosis, improved living standards and increased automation due to improved technology.What we have is an ageing population and rising obesity...
And is no different in the USA to here, just were a few years behind them. So NHS or no NHS makes little difference. Except in the states the premiums go up, here you tax and NI will increaseand all in harness will pay.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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Agree....but there has also been a big drop in fertility in the UK....which brings us back to questions of generational fairness.
Is it fair/sustainable to burden a smaller group of young (via their NI and taxes) to pay for an increasing group of old....when the young can barely afford a descent standard of living for themselves?
To be clear I'm rapidly approaching the "old" group!
Stueeee
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'The system isn't sustainable' seems to be be the doomsday clarion call of 'small government' right wing commentators on pretty well anything that the state might spend money on. But on the subject of NHS funding, on a per capita or GDP basis, the UK isn't actually a big spender.
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/...rnationall-comparison-fig-1.png?itok=oLRJnWi1
So, when those 'doomsters and gloomsters' watch the UK finally sink into the channel under the weight of the NHS budget, at least they will be able to console themselves that Germany and France will be way worse off as their per capita spending is way ahead of ours.
Pigeon_Droppings2
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Yea I'm done...have a great weekend.....
