Why should healthcare be 'free'?

Generali

I don't understand what is unique about healthcare that pretty much everyone in the UK thinks that it should be free at the point of use.

I've been on the planet for about 15,000 days and have needed to drink water on pretty much all of those days, eat food at least a couple of times a week, have shelter and warmth and yet it is considered normal for me to pay for those things which keep me alive.

I've only really had one lot of life saving medical treatment in those 15,000 and even that is debatable. I guess to that you should add vaccination and prophylactic drugs against malaria (both of which are incredibly cheap to buy). Most of the healthcare I had was to make my life a bit easier or nicer, even just to get a medical certificate so the boss didn't sack me for having a particularly nasty cold (or 'the flu' as it seems to be known these days).

Surely if there is an argument for anything being free at the point of use it should be these greater essentials. So why pick out healthcare? I don't get it.

jamespir

Generali wrote: »

I don't understand what is unique about healthcare that pretty much everyone in the UK thinks that it should be free at the point of use.

I've been on the planet for about 15,000 days and have needed to drink water on pretty much all of those days, eat food at least a couple of times a week, have shelter and warmth and yet it is considered normal for me to pay for those things which keep me alive.

I've only really had one lot of life saving medical treatment in those 15,000 and even that is debatable. I guess to that you should add vaccination and prophylactic drugs against malaria (both of which are incredibly cheap to buy). Most of the healthcare I had was to make my life a bit easier or nicer, even just to get a medical certificate so the boss didn't sack me for having a particularly nasty cold (or 'the flu' as it seems to be known these days).

Surely if there is an argument for anything being free at the point of use it should be these greater essentials. So why pick out healthcare? I don't get it.

Healthcare isnt free you pay for it using national insurance
we just dont pay everytime were treated unlike other countries unless you go private

Generali

jamespir wrote: »

Healthcare isnt free

I agree, that's why I say, "free at the point of use" in my post.

Even then, having to wait a couple of days for a GP appointment or 6 hours in A&E to be seen is just another way of paying.

Plater

Its a good question, and why should people get paid when they do not work, or why should people get their rent and mortgage interest paid when they are on low income?

jamespir

Plater wrote: »

Its a good question, and why should people get paid when they do not work, or why should people get their rent and mortgage interest paid when they are on low income?

so you want to see people starve do you

what happens if you were to leose your job tommorow what would you do

geez theres some morons on this site recently

Generali

Plater wrote: »

Its a good question, and why should people get paid when they do not work, or why should people get their rent and mortgage interest paid when they are on low income?

My point is that most people in the UK think that healthcare should be free when they use it. The unemployed aren't given free food or water AFAIK.

lostinrates

Personally i think that there should be a small charge for gp/ nurse appts with the standard exemptions.....the unemployed, the old, the young and the long term ill. There should be a greater charge for missed appts. Which cost a fortune we are told.


There is a cost to NOT having free at point of use healthcare too....a cost not counted in money. But i feel a cheap at point of use service could have similar benefit, or more, with more respect from users of the services.

Furthermore i feel a review of what is provided free is probably necessary....i think somethings that are free now should probably not be.

[Deleted User]

Generali wrote: »

My point is that most people in the UK think that healthcare should be free when they use it. The unemployed aren't given free food or water AFAIK.

Also, people believe that when they become unemployed they should be given FREE MONEY! I think they are meant to use it to buy food and water.

We're a quasi-socialist experiement. It's created a dependency and reliance on the state (and not yourself) to look out for you when things go wrong. Why save for a 'rainy day' when the great nanny state will look after you if there's a problem.

Personally, i don't like the idea of an American style healthcare system. Their government actually spends more per person on healthcare than we do, yet there's 50m people there that can't get access to medical attention.

Do you like the idea of selling your house to pay for the treatment of a debilitating illness?

Generali

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Personally, i don't like the idea of an American style healthcare system. Their government actually spends more per person on healthcare than we do, yet there's 50m people there that can't get access to medical attention.

Do you like the idea of selling your house to pay for the treatment of a debilitating illness?

Nor do I particularly but it's far from being the only alternative. I think part of the problem is that the British are sold on the idea of a false dichotomy; that you can only have the NHS or US-style healthcare.

There are other alternatives.

[Deleted User]

Generali wrote: »

Nor do I particularly but it's far from being the only alternative. I think part of the problem is that the British are sold on the idea of a false dichotomy; that you can only have the NHS or US-style healthcare.

There are other alternatives.

True, there's all sorts of models around the world. Ours is very open to abuse due to it's 'free-ness'. I'd love us to have an 'NHS account' which told you about your usage and prevents 'non-eligible people' from stealing NHS resources.

chewmylegoff

Generali wrote: »

I don't understand what is unique about healthcare that pretty much everyone in the UK thinks that it should be free at the point of use.

I've been on the planet for about 15,000 days and have needed to drink water on pretty much all of those days, eat food at least a couple of times a week, have shelter and warmth and yet it is considered normal for me to pay for those things which keep me alive.

I've only really had one lot of life saving medical treatment in those 15,000 and even that is debatable. I guess to that you should add vaccination and prophylactic drugs against malaria (both of which are incredibly cheap to buy). Most of the healthcare I had was to make my life a bit easier or nicer, even just to get a medical certificate so the boss didn't sack me for having a particularly nasty cold (or 'the flu' as it seems to be known these days).

Surely if there is an argument for anything being free at the point of use it should be these greater essentials. So why pick out healthcare? I don't get it.

it's just become an ideological argument, it's not based on any sort of logical sense.

the people who would keep the NHS free at point of use at any cost are just as nuts as the right wing americans who think that any provision of healthcare by the state is evil socialism which must be prevented at any cost.

both of the polar opposites just make up stuff to support their viewpoints. all the front line staff are saints who work 8 hours unpaid overtime every single day to make sure your granny receives a standard of care supposedly unobtainable in the private sector (because NHS nurses don't care about profit, you get better care), and the evil hordes of faceless clipboard wielding middle managers are responsible for anything that goes wrong with it

it's just the same as all the rubbish about anyone serving in the military (even if they work in catering logistics in slough) is a super-brave mega hero, and everyone who dies turns out to have been the loveliest person that ever walked the earth (despite their 84 criminal convictions for violent assault).

with the NHS i just think it boils down to massive scaremongering creating a ludicrous fear of change.