Correspondent of the Day, June 3
Actually, British System Works Quite Well
Editor, Times-Dispatch: I am tired of the United Kingdom's National Health Service being used as a political Aunt Sally, as Ross Mackenzie did recently. Doesn't he think that, after 60 years of experience, if the NHS was and is so awful, the British public and politicians would have used their very flexible government system to throw overboard such a supposed albatross? Rather, the Brits are proud of the principle of the NHS (care free at point of delivery) whilst very critical of poor performance here and there.
I write as a former member of a local U.K. NHS Board for a town of 330,000 people. Yes, the NHS is managed locally, not from the center. And the medical professionals are not salaried but self-employed. They work in a mixed private/public health system and many move daily and easily between both sectors. They are well paid, too.
Yes, there are budgets -- and if you have pressures the NHS center may be asked to find more resources. And if treatments don't work, they will be discouraged. And elective surgery gets less priority. Also, I chaired the local NHS Complaints body, where we could review cases and give patients and relatives a chance to see that many perceived problems were the result of poor communication and so assuaged any push to legal remedies. Yet we the NHS could penalize doctors and dentists but not by way of the courts.
Unlike most of your columnists, I can speak from personal experience as a contented NHS patient for 50 years. Also, two family members had serious cancers. I checked over here and was advised that the treatments being given by the NHS were world-class, one in a small hospital 230 miles from London. And in both cases the primary-care doctor came to the family homes daily, as did the district nurses. And only this month my 96-year-old mother had a heart monitor implanted; thanks so much to the NHS.
No, the Brits would not trade their NHS for our hodgepodge. We here have on one hand the well-insured ("so this a great system") and on the other the uninsured and the seriously ill who, lacking the resources of the insurance industry and drug manufacturers, can only with little political clout decry our lack of reforming resolve and generally indifferent quality health outcomes.
And leaving employers to carry much of the burden we all should share is no consolation to those in our automotive industry who are losing their jobs. How stupid and self-flagellating can we get?
Tony Pelling.
Richmond.
Reader Reactions
“Average family premium: $750 per month; premiums are pegged to patients” income This for Germany.
how many of those millions with out health insurance can pay this kind premium per month. Oh yea there system is better than ours.
Care to guess what the tax rates are in these countries? That needs to be part of the discussion also because US taxes will increase drastically to pay for them. UK has about a 60% tax rate to pay for their care.
I’ve worked with Canadians, traveled several times to many countries in Europe. Never have I heard any displeasure from foreigners about their less-costly health care system than ours. But who knows. Any day now, the citizens of all those nations may say “No more! Change our systems to America’s, as theirs is the stand-alone correct system! We want to duplicate their skyrocketing costs by reverting back to our changes of 1960’s.“
If many among us were not so stubborn toward change for the better, we could learn much from those who have progressed in past 50 yrs. Might try: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld and note Germany’s combo public/private insurance program. Sure works better than ours.
I lived abroad in a country that had socialized medicine. All I can say from my experience is that it doesn’t work very well. LONG waits to see the doctors, quality wasn’t up to snuff on many occasions, and the taxes to support it were through the roof. People who had the money went to private clinics to get more timely and better quality service. Imagine the MCV free clinic everywhere you go to see a doctor. Not exactly something I want for my healthcare. Also imagine how your taxes are going to go up so you can pay for every Tom, Dick, and Harry to go to the doctor. While I know our system is broken and needs fixed, socialized healthcare is not the answer. I’ve already dealt with it once, I don’t want to do it again.
To all those who demand a government controlled health care system I suggest you go and try it for awhile. Any survey/study done by the fed’s or the insurance industry should be very suspect to its validty. Mr. Obama and all the democrats have been drolling at the mouth for a chance to take over control of this system. It will be a bigger waste of money and resources then the current system. Ever since the insurance industry and HMO’s gained control of our health care system it has gone further down the sewer than any other system we have. Give control back to the doctors and patients and see ehat happens. Some of the charges for procedures and medications are totally out of control. $5,000 dollars for a proceduret that takes 20 seconds. Doing 3 of those an hour nets 45,000. In an 8 hour day that is in excess of $260,000 a day. Yes this does happen. Pills that cost hundreds a month to take. Government will not curtail this type of cost run away they will just add to it.
thetruth only looks at items that support what he preaches he does not look or report the other side. Good luck if the Feds get ahold of our health care system.
to thetruth: in two words: QUALITY and ACCESS. Savings do no good it you die waiting. Are you (or a female you love)willing to wait until the 6th month of pregnancy before seeing andOB/GYN? Are you ok with having the government deny you certain cancer drugs because you are too “old to be viable.“? Are you willing to wait until your head cold becomes pneumonia before seeing your primary care doc? Are you willing to let your kids wait for care because illegal immigrants have to be allowed access, too?
How is Caifornia’s health care system doing? You’d better pay attention because that is the blueprint you are asking for. In a word: BANKRUPT.
As for the insurance companies…I have little compassion.
When their executives receive multimillion dollar salaries and then they turn around and deny customer payments and state they can’t afford it, raising premiums without justification, cutting drugs from the formulary, denying coverage for ridiculous reasons…well, I think they are going to be reaping the harvest of the anger they have sown.
Executive greed has tossed ethical and moral values out the door.
Like it or not we will end up with a form of the Canadian health system.
Contrary to what “thetruth” states, each province of Canada is different. If thetruth would check they would find that PET/CT scans are not available in all provinces, are not regularly used to stage cancer, that waits for a scan can be months and there are local “medical boards” that can deny access.
In Mr Pellings letter he even states that he was member of a local review board.
Do you really want a local board, comprised of non-doctors, deciding your medical treatment?
The three greatest Canadians of all time are Geddy Lee, Alex Liefson and Neil Peart.
The “unlikes” the cancer patient has heard or read about in U.K. and Canada are not like what cancer patients incur in U.K. and Canada. My next door neighbor of 2 yrs with her three children from England voice still how better England’s system is than ours, along with ditto from her father who visits a month each summer. My former manager is from Toronto and I’ve had discussions with his family and fellow team members in Canada. They all favor their system vs ours. Canadian Tommy Douglas, founder of Canada’s current health care system, was in a 2004 poll conducted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp chosen “The Greatest Canadian” of all time, by Canada’s citizens.
Dont’ be hoodwinked. We have a very sick system that needs a cure.
As a cancer patient I am fortunate to live in the US. Unlike in the UK and Canada I don’t need the approval of my General Practitioner and a local health board to see a specialist.
I don’t have to wait weeks or months for a decision from some distant health board to determine whether or not I can receive a given treatment.
I also don’t have to wait months for a PET/CT scan.
I can also freely choose to enter a drug trial.
Although insurance only covers a portion of the costs I would never exchange our system for a government run system.
Could our health system be improved? Yes, but not with one run by the government.
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