UncleIan wrote:Lootman wrote:I have experienced healthcare in both the UK and the US. The US experience was much better.
I've got an anecdote and I'm gonna use it.
I have a child who was born in the USA, on mostly-employer-funded-insurance, and in a very affluent up-market location. From a technical & comfort perspective the healthcare package was roughly comparable with the NHS.
What was different is that medical bills for the birth just kept on coming. Literally for about 3-4 years afterwards.
Fortunately we were able to absorb the co-pay element of them, and middle-class enough to play email ping pong and bounce the insured element of them back to the insurer. However these were not cheap and one could never be sure when the billing system would magic up another one from the depths. And then one had to understand them, check them against (many !) others that had already appeared and been paid / challenged, challenge them, pay them, etc. All in all this is a terrible experience which I would not wish on anyone. And in practice the fear of it is quite enough to keep the poor well away from the US healthcare system except in emergency situations, or for fixed fee situations.
So, whatever you do, don't pretend that all is sweetness and light in the USA medical system. It is legalised extortion imho. I'm not saying the NHS is perfect, but it can hold its head up high against the USA.
- dspp