Why should healthcare be 'free'?

Rotor

Kennyboy66 wrote: »

Really ?

The last OECD report seemed to disagree with you.

The main problem is that too much of the huge increase in health spending during Labour's period was spent on increased pay - rather than improved treatment.
GP's being the most overpaid by international comparisons.

This is not however "being inefficient" - a canard, you seem obsessed with.

Surely that is 'being inefficient' ( or less efficient). Fewer outcomes per unit of money spent

Mr_Mumble

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 don't see many people complaining about paying 19p for 16 paracetemol tablets.*

Also, there is a lot of support for making other people pay for healthcare. E.g. charging drunks for their A&E visits or turning up late for a GP appointment or being fat or smoking or.... all this could be solved by introducing voluntary cost into the system.

*that's the price I paid in Asda/Walmart t'other day. I thought it outrageous that the easy swallow 'uns had a ridiculous markup, 33p iirc!

A._Badger

Mr_Mumble wrote: »

I don't see many people complaining about paying 19p for 16 paracetemol tablets.*

Also, there is a lot of support for making other people pay for healthcare. E.g. charging drunks for their A&E visits or turning up late for a GP appointment or being fat or smoking or.... all this could be solved by introducing voluntary cost into the system.

*that's the price I paid in Asda/Walmart t'other day. I thought it outrageous that the easy swallow 'uns had a ridiculous markup, 33p iirc!

Don't smokers already pay more than their way?

In fact, given that they die younger and more quickly (ie cheaply) that non-smokers and in their shorter lives contribute vastly more revenue than they could ever cost the system, a truly pragmatic government would encourage the weed, rather than suppress it.

ILW

Mr_Mumble wrote: »

I don't see many people complaining about paying 19p for 16 paracetemol tablets.*

Also, there is a lot of support for making other people pay for healthcare. E.g. charging drunks for their A&E visits or turning up late for a GP appointment or being fat or smoking or.... all this could be solved by introducing voluntary cost into the system.

*that's the price I paid in Asda/Walmart t'other day. I thought it outrageous that the easy swallow 'uns had a ridiculous markup, 33p iirc!

i agree with the possible exeption of smoking, where there is a very large tax element built into the cost of the product.

Jennifer_Jane

ringo_24601 wrote: »

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.

A 10-minute Motion in favour of this (annual statement of cost) was voted against in Parliament today - can't remember the vote but it was roughly No's 174; Aye's 81. Roughly.

People felt that it would be difficult for servicemen and others to consider themselves to be a burden on the State; that it puts a price on people, and so on. Personally, I felt it would be wrong (although I would be interested in the figure), but moreover, I felt that the timing of this was poorly done when the Health Reform Bill is going through such tribulations. The Tories are being depicted as the privateers (is there such a word?), and thus this is not an idea whose time has come.

abaxas

lostinrates wrote: »

People who do not understand that many gp pravtices...not all, do not meet the needs of their working patients.

There is a simple rule in primary care.

White doctor - if you want to be referred
Black doctor - if you want a simple problem fixed.

Different backgrounds tend to lead to differing ways of providing healthcare.

Sorry if I offended anyone, but the stats speak for themselves.

Jennifer_Jane

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.

I think that there already are. I have received from time to time, opportunities to have tests of some sort done privately via (and on the site of) my doctor's surgery. £100 for a test which gave me assurance but which I would not expect the NHS to pay for.

I understand that the surgery would have received a kickback or commission for 'hosting' this and felt it was a win/win. With the surge in 'worried well' who are now getting older and have various bits and pieces going wrong, I welcome these opportunities for reassurance.

I am now awaiting some extremely minor surgery to be done at my doctor's surgery, never knew they did this till I was looking at their website. If I went privately it would not only cost thousands, but I would be give a general anaesthetic. With the NHS, I am expected to be in surgery for 15 minutes and hope to have a doctor with a sharp knife, a sure hand and good eyesight. I would happily pay £100 for this, but there is no opportunity to do so, it seems.

I would also be happy to pay for an appointment to see my doctor, I would go more often than I do (per StevieJ's post) if I wasn't so worried about taking up NHS resources for no reason.

StevieJ

Jennifer_Jane wrote: »

The Tories are being depicted as the privateers (is there such a word?), and thus this is not an idea whose time has come.

There certainly is, I think it was euphemism for a thief pirate or brigand in the 16th century

lostinrates

abaxas wrote: »

There is a simple rule in primary care.

White doctor - if you want to be referred
Black doctor - if you want a simple problem fixed.

Different backgrounds tend to lead to differing ways of providing healthcare.

Sorry if I offended anyone, but the stats speak for themselves.

Well....ok....tbh, noticed no such thing myself.

what does that have to do with things like opening hours to fit in with patients?

horngkai

people do take NHS for granted. How many times that patients booked into clinic did not turn up and that itself is costing the whole NHS millions. I overheard a phonecall from a med secretary who was trying to phone a patient up because the clinic has to be cancelled due to sickness, guess whats the reply she got, ''we were not planning to turn up anyway''!!!!!