Anyone wish they were back in the UK

[DiZZyLoX 114]

Haha, rub it in, why don't you!

I work for a small company - that's part of the problem. If I go on holiday, there's no one to really take over my duties. For my maternity leave, my boss's sister is going to have to fill in. I'm a little afraid of how the big boss is going to view it! (My immediate boss is cool with it, but her superiors are old-fashioned men who are still dubious of women in the workforce).

Medical benefits for small businesses are also never as good, as it's a much greater cost to the companies to insure their employees.

ahhh yeah, i definitely feel stuffed on the mat-leave versus the glory of how it's done in europe & canada. I get minimum of 6 weeks, had this been Canada...2 YEARS. so jealous.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

p.s. i'm looking at some of the vacation days you folks say you have, and how much you're paying for medical bills...and i'm wondering exactly where you work? I have 4 weeks off every year, not including sick and work/family time, my benefits are simply...the bomb. I'm just not feeling that crunch, really.

I'm sorry guys!

It's the beauty of the inequity of America.

Now don't you just feel blessed!

[TracyTN 237]

America doesn't exactly have the corner market on inequities. The standard of care across the NHS is a good example of that.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

America doesn't exactly have the corner market on inequities. The standard of care across the NHS is a good example of that.

Being able to get some care is better than getting no care just because you don't have a plum job.

[TracyTN 237]

Those without jobs, by law, cannot be turned away as far as I understand. Paying for it is another thing, of course - not that NHS is free either, unless you fall into certain categories.

You'll never convince me that the NHS is all that, but we definitely have health care problems here that need solving.

[Ellesse 11]

Those without jobs, by law, cannot be turned away as far as I understand. Paying for it is another thing, of course - not that NHS is free either, unless you fall into certain categories.

And surely that was Rebecca Jo's point? You may not get turned away, but may end up with a huge debt that it takes you years to pay off (if you're able to obtain it in the first place, and I have seen documentaries that show instances where people don't get the healthcare they need due to them being unemployed). With regards to the NHS, it is paid out of the general taxation fund. Whilst, of course, this is paid for by legal residents of the UK, they don't have to pay the large sums of money required for the treatment after they've used it and the amount paid by individuals in their annual tax is nothing like amounts that can be paid in US healthcare insurance. I don't think it's perfect by any stretch, but I do agree that everyone should be entitled to the best healthcare available in their area (and, yes, this can be patchy within the the NHS, but no system is perfect) and that it not be dependent on how good your healthcare insurance is.

[Robert&Karen 264]

Nothing is free. NHS does not get its money from insurance premiums but thy get if from somewhere!

[DiZZyLoX 114]

Being able to get some care is better than getting no care just because you don't have a plum job.

My husband hated NHS. Now he cant believe you have to pay for healthcare here. I'm like make up your mind, you either hate the freeness and the downside of waiting / getting sub-par care or you hate paying and getting excellent care. He won't even get started on NHS and dental care.

[Ellesse 11]

Nothing is free. NHS does not get its money from insurance premiums but thy get if from somewhere!

Didn't say it was free. One of the points of the NHS, though, was to be free at point of delivery, which it is, no matter what your financial circumstances and you do not have to fit in certain categories (as was stated in a previous post) for this to be the case or fill out insurance paperwork to get treatment. If you're not a tax payer then, essentially, yes, your NHS service would be free as you wouldn't have actually contributed towards any of your care. As mentioned in my previous post, it is paid for through general taxation rather than specific healthcare insurance and, again, taxation paid for by the general population is less than insurance premiums sometimes paid in the US. Furthermore, if you have a longstanding condition, you will get treatment in the UK. In the US, it will depend on the insurance company and whether you are able to get cover for a pre-existing condition. From talking to a US friend of mine, she is only able to use a certain amount of healthcare and will not be covered if the amount spent exceeds this. Pre-existing conditions and amount of healthcare you've already received do not affect whether you get treatment in the UK.

Again, not saying it's perfect, but the US model is in no way perfect either.

[DiZZyLoX 114]

when you're brought up that in order to get good health care you gotta get a good job...it doesn't really sink in that what you "have to" do is all that detrimental based on what others "don't have to" do.

I knew in order to get benefits i'd have to have a good job, so I went to school and got a good job with good benefits that I have to pay for...at the same time, it's all I really knew to do. I imagine if I went from not paying at all to having to pay for what I believed to be the same exact care, it would make me feel a different way about it.

I'm down for free sh*t. But I'm not down for having to deal with wait lists, lines and better care (if that's even what it means).

[Ellesse 11]

I'm like make up your mind, you either hate the freeness and the downside of waiting / getting sub-par care or you hate paying and getting excellent care.

This comment is not true - just because you get NHS care does not mean it's sub-par. As I've said before, yes, it is patchy, but the care can be excellent. This implies all healthcare in the US is excellent and has no variability in it whatsoever, which I find hard to believe. Just because you pay for something doesn't mean the service is better.

[DiZZyLoX 114]

This comment is not true - just because you get NHS care does not mean it's sub-par. As I've said before, yes, it is patchy, but the care can be excellent. This implies all healthcare in the US is excellent and has no variability in it whatsoever, which I find hard to believe. Just because you pay for something doesn't mean the service is better.

I don't mean to imply that all healthcare in the US is excellent. I don't think anyone believes that is true, including myself. You would have to be terribly naive to believe it. My point is not to sit here and slam NHS at all. I know my husband disliked it an his main reason was that he didn't feel the standard of care was all that great.

My point is that I don't feel "free" health care is the answer to the U.S. healthcare system. I don't think it would make it more equitable. But then you have to define what equitable is to you...to some it would be how much you have to pay, to others it would be standard of care. It's all a matter of opinion / preference, isn't it?

[Ellesse 11]

when you're brought up that in order to get good health care you gotta get a good job...it doesn't really sink in that what you "have to" do is all that detrimental based on what others "don't have to" do.

I knew in order to get benefits i'd have to have a good job, so I went to school and got a good job with good benefits that I have to pay for...at the same time, it's all I really knew to do. I imagine if I went from not paying at all to having to pay for what I believed to be the same exact care, it would make me feel a different way about it.

I'm down for free sh*t. But I'm not down for having to deal with wait lists, lines and better care (if that's even what it means).

I understand both sides. I'm explaining how the NHS works as there seems to be some misunderstanding - both sides have benefits and, you're right, it does depend a lot on what you're brought up with. I think it's interesting what you say about your husband not liking the NHS - I think that's an opinion that a lot of people in the UK share as there is a love-hate relationship, but I think they'd also be outraged at not having a standard of free (at point of service, not saying it's totally free here) healthcare. Just wouldn't mesh with what you grow up with in the UK.

Neither one is perfect but the NHS does not provide sub par care, in my opinion, and it troubles me that not being able to work because of illness may mean you cannot access care when you need it most, particularly if you've paid taxes etc. up to that point. And, yes, I understand this depends on the kind of coverage you get, etc.

[Ellesse 11]

My point is that I don't feel "free" health care is the answer to the U.S. healthcare system. I don't think it would make it more equitable. But then you have to define what equitable is to you...to some it would be how much you have to pay, to others it would be standard of care. It's all a matter of opinion / preference, isn't it?

Absolutely agree. I don't know what the answer is either - both have their problems. Will be interesting to see what part healthcare will play in the election (if any). And now I shall stop scribbling all over someone else's thread!

[TracyTN 237]

And surely that was Rebecca Jo's point? You may not get turned away, but may end up with a huge debt that it takes you years to pay off (if you're able to obtain it in the first place, and I have seen documentaries that show instances where people don't get the healthcare they need due to them being unemployed). With regards to the NHS, it is paid out of the general taxation fund. Whilst, of course, this is paid for by legal residents of the UK, they don't have to pay the large sums of money required for the treatment after they've used it and the amount paid by individuals in their annual tax is nothing like amounts that can be paid in US healthcare insurance. I don't think it's perfect by any stretch, but I do agree that everyone should be entitled to the best healthcare available in their area (and, yes, this can be patchy within the the NHS, but no system is perfect) and that it not be dependent on how good your healthcare insurance is.

I think that was part of her point - but I was also making sure she knew that you couldn't be turned away at a US hospital because you don't have a job. I think she knows this (we go way back and have talked about this at length) but was just re-iterating it in case.

I think we can all agree on the part I bolded in your statement. As Rebecca Jo knows, too, I don't think our system is perfect by ANY means. I'm just no fan of the NHS, which has little do with how its funded, and more in the overall inequities from trust to trust; the way my mother in law has struggled to get surgeries she needs is staggering, let alone what I witnessed first hand when my then hubby to be nearly cut off the tip of one of his fingers. (Waiting 3 days just to be SEEN by a surgeon - really?! Guess nearly losing the end of a finger wasn't emergent enough.)