To the American Guy on the news this morning..

..make sure you know what you are talking about before making an international statement otherwise you just look like an eejit!

Yes the UK does not have the best record for teeth but for your information it is because they privatised Dental not because of the NHS.

The difficulty is there is "years" long waiting lists to get a NHS dentist if you can find one at all.

Our dentist are private and our Dental insurance is inadequate in that regardless of the price of your treatment you must pay the entire amount up front then claim a % back so from our basic charge of £25 up to £00,000 you must have the cash! this is why we don't have the nicest teeth in world because unless you are stinking rich the majority can only afford basic treatments or no treatment at all.

If they put our Dentists back under the control of the NHS everyone would be able to afford treatments and we too could have a lovely set of gnashers.

There are lots of american guys on the news >< I'm guessing he said british have bad teeth? hehe

Not on our news there isn't, but good point.

It was a campaigner at a rally about the possible changes to your health care system and the only argument for not having a UK style system  he could come up with was because of British teeth....but he is ill informed.

I don't want the government to kill my grandma!!! :(

But are people there not dying because they either don't have insurance or the insurance won't cover it for some reason.

I believe they are scare mongering you all over there, we don't kill our elderly or anyone else for that matter, if you need medical you get it.

The americans they spoke to who have actually been here and experienced treatment under our NHS had only praise for it.

Nothing is perfect, there or here but, I think apparent bad teeth has to be the lamest excuse ever.

I heard they were going to make death squads that walked around and took away sick people to die!

Nooooooo!

I heard that doctors will stop washing their hands and women will start dying of fever when they're pregnant if the health care bill is passed.

Seriously heard that.

I heard that Obama and the terrorist friends he pals around with are trying to kill everyone who is disabled!

OMG! That is just unbelievable and rather scandalous, but I guess they will say anything they can to stop it being passed.

They said the debate has reach such a level that Twitter is being used to slang and defend the NHS, it took so many hits that it caused twitter to crash.

I would have to defend our NHS, I think it does much more good than bad, I know down in England it does have many more problems than we have in Scotland, but our NHS health care is separate from England. They get upset that we get a much better service up here and more treatments, drugs than they get. Our waiting lists are no where near what they are down there.

So apart from the occasional Dr that i haven't liked I don't have many complaints, I went to the Dr for one thing and just because of my age they gave me a full medical check just for no reason and I have never had to wait as long as they are telling you over there.

Our Hospital waiting times.

Immediate if considered life threatening

0-7 days Urgent, potentially life threatening (would depend on other results) 

7-14 days Serious, has possibility to become Urgent

2-5wks for needs seeing to but not life threatening

All are subject to immediate admittance should your condition worsen.

On top of that of course we have immediate hospital treatment at A&E

Original Post by azirra:

I heard that Obama and the terrorist friends he pals around with are trying to kill everyone who is disabled!

Obama doesn't want to kill the disabled.

Obama wants to make you smoke joints rolled from the rice paper pages of the bible, then force you to get a sex change by an illegal immigrant doctor who will euthanize your parents before gay marrying in a mosque decorated with pictures of Mao and Stalin and on a dais made of melted confiscated guns. The death panels will officiate, the service will be conducted alternately in french and north korean, and the mood lighting provided by a dozen burning flags.

When that's done, he's sending all the white folks to the cotton fields. It's payback time, beyotches.

PS - The best part of "idiot yank du jour" was the claim that Prof. Hawking would be dead if he was forced to endure NHS... blissfully unaware that he's been living in england his entire life and teaches at Oxford. I guess because his voice synth has an american accent, CLEARLY he must be american.

Propaganda is an amazing tool.  Given the complexity of this health care bill it's no wonder folk's heads are spinning.

We have 50 states that have diverse health care options and trying to come up with a unified insurance plan option is a tremendous task.  There is so much confusion out there we have people on the news that think we are trying to nationalize health care, when what the bill does is offer a national insurance plan.  Granted I'm not convinced the government belongs in the insurance business, but that's an entirely different thread. 

I'm thinking the comment, made by the "American guy on the news," was intended to be humorous   based on the bad teeth stereotype...

The U.S. also has a private dental and the plan works much the way yours does Andie- at least in Massachusetts that is. 

Actually having lived in the UK for a number of years now and also having lived years in a country with a private health system, the UK system is rubbish and the quality of the doctors here is below par and I would happily (and do happily) pay for private doctors because the NHS doctors are under skilled and under trained.

I would actually fully support losing the NHS and moving to a paid system if it meant getting doctors that are trained to the levels they are in countries with paid medical treatment.

I would be interested in hearing from UK people who have actually lived in other countries and experienced paid health systems to see if they agree or disagree. 

I think its hard for those who have only lived in the UK to have the same view as someone who has experienced several different health systems as it does give you an entirely different point of view.

Original Post by lisajb74:

Actually having lived in the UK for a number of years now and also having lived years in a country with a private health system, the UK system is rubbish and the quality of the doctors here is below par and I would happily (and do happily) pay for private doctors because the NHS doctors are under skilled and under trained.

Lucky you. The whole point is, so many people are not in a position to be able to pay for doctors if they were private.

Dear Andie,

In the future, please add the phrase H _ _ _ _ _ C _ _ _ to your thread title so those of us americans who have had the topic up to HERE! can avoid it.

Regards,

Ministry of Death

Original Post by lisajb74:

and I would happily (and do happily) pay for private doctors because the NHS doctors are under skilled and under trained.

I think its hard for those who have only lived in the UK to have the same view as someone who has experienced several different health systems as it does give you an entirely different point of view.

 Its also hard for those with money to understand the point of view of those that don't have the option to pay...so are left to die or pick between eating and getting the medicine they need to keep living.

The healthy care system in the US is GREAT ...if you have the money to pay for it. When I got sick, I was given the very best treatment possible. A specialist was flown in and I was given a private room with the very best care (at the best hospital in the area). Why? Because my family has money.

But it would be completely selfish of me to try and stand in the way of a system (even though it might burden me with extra taxes or whatever else) just because I, personally, don't need it. Over 50 MILLION people in the US dont have an option for health insurance (either because of money or pre-existing conditions and having no insurance company willing to take them without HUGE sums). People are forced to keep working far past "retirement" just because thats the only way they can be covered. People are forced to keep working not only for themselves, but to continue to protect their family (and if the person in the family without health insurance gets fired? Suddenly no one in the family has any coverage).

Its broken. This shouldnt be happening. Just because I dont experience the problem, it doesnt make the problem vanish.

I can understand their point of view....and how it seems like society is telling them "just die". Do we tell the handicapped to "just deal with it"? Or do we take steps to help protect them and make their lives easier? In a society, its VERY bad when people have the mindset of "well, I have mine, screw you". The system might be working for you and me, but that doesnt mean the system doesnt need to be fixed.....

And, from what I understand, they are simply offering another option on TOP of the private insurance companies. If the care is lower, well, people with money will still have their private insurance and nice system....but at least those who never had an option before will be given SOMETHING (even if the care isnt as fast or as good).

The problem - as I see it, is that unless we do something other than private insurance we will get to a point in the US where most people will have no health care at all unless you are wealthy.

My husband and I earn about 30,000 a year before taxes. The insurance that is offered at work costs me $450 a month for my family. But that insurance does not even cover ANY medical until we have met the $6,000 deductible. Which means, that unless there is catastrophic illness we pay for ALL our health care AND pay the insurance costs. So, in order to see any benefit from the insurance we have to pay more than 1/3 our annual income (and that is before taxes).

So, given that we are fairly young and do not engage in risky behaviors, we dont carry insurance. Instead we bank what we can and cross our fingers.

For anyone carping about "choice", thats a load of bull anyway. There is seldom real choice in the US because we all have to go to our insurance plan doctors or pay a lot extra to see the doctor of our choosing.

Yes, Americans are idiots and it is not surprising that some yank commentator thinks Stephen Hawking is an American and and Brits have less beautiful teeth because of their health care system.

By the way, Americans don't all have beautiful teeth either. But the media makes it seem that way because the media does not put ugly or average people in front of the camera.

Original Post by loriklorik:

Original Post by lisajb74:

and I would happily (and do happily) pay for private doctors because the NHS doctors are under skilled and under trained.

I think its hard for those who have only lived in the UK to have the same view as someone who has experienced several different health systems as it does give you an entirely different point of view.

 Its also hard for those with money to understand the point of view of those that don't have the option to pay...so are left to die or pick between eating and getting the medicine they need to keep living.

 

Interestingly you are assuming I have money.

We are a one income family with my husband suffering from diabetes, neuropathy and depression and my income is less than £25k per annum.   Even struggling I would still rather pay than deal with the misdiagnosis and incompetence that comes from the UK's free health system (which we have experienced first hand) and the 12 month waiting lists for even the most simple of procedures. 

"Are we human...or are we dancers?"

Who has the greatest to lose if the U.S. is able to offer an optional health care plan that's better and cheaper than the mega insurance companies?  

Will these companies actually have to become more competitive and offer some of the things we desperately need?  Affordability, acceptance of clients with pre-existing conditions- just to name a few. 

At the risk of repeating myself- Propaganda is an amazing tool- wondering who's doing the spinning???

I am American, and lived in America for the first twenty years of my life.  I have now been living in the UK for a few years, and happened to start getting really sick after I arrived.  I found it easy to find a doctor and schedule appointments within a reasonable amount of time.  I found it shocking that it didn't cost me a co-payment, and that when filling prescriptions, I didn't have to cross my fingers in hope that that particular prescription would be one that cost $100 versus $10, as can happen in the US.  When I had to have surgery to fix my health issues, I was scheduled in within a reasonable amount of time, fully prepared as to what would happen, met my surgeon, had wonderful nurses and hospital staff take care of me, and then left the hospital once I had sufficiently healed armed with information about my recovery and medicines.  I scheduled a follow-up with my doctor and was allowed off of work at no cost to my pay until I felt well enough to return.  I was thoroughly impressed at the outstanding efficiency of the NHS and the quality of the service I received, and as a 'snooty American' I did worry a bit!

That said, I grew up in a middle class house that earned a decent salary, and it was still incredibly difficult to meet health costs with insurance!  Prescriptions are really expensive (my brother has asthma and his inhalers are something like $100 a month!), birth control isnt' free, doctors' waiting lists are just as long and you still have to pay for appointments!  I don't need luxury, I need health care, and if I can pay for it out of my taxes and not have to worry about it in another way even better.  Doesn't matter if I make 30,000 a year or 300,000 insurance is absurdly expensive for private in the US and I don't care to have to consciously decide whether I might have an accident and want to spend $6,000 a year voluntarily! 

Plus, if the US system will be similar to the NHS, if you're snooty and don't think public health care is good enough for you, you can still go private!!

And yes, the teeth here are noticably worse than in the US, but it is because dentists have privatised and it's damn near impossible to become a patient of a NHS one.  Plus they rarely decide that kids need braces (which in the States still cost an arm and a leg, even with dental!).

So there are my two cents from someone who's lived in both the US and UK.  p.s. Hatamoto, you're hysterical

Original Post by tink8:

So there are my two cents from someone who's lived in both the US and UK.  p.s. Hatamoto, you're hysterical

Cheers mate. I'll be thinking of your kind words while I'm being waterboarded at Gitmo.

there are more than a few americans with bad teeth (or few or no teeth).  the ones on TV usually have pretty ones....

edit: yeah, yeah - canada, too.  go visit a first-nations reserve, psych ward, or vancouver's downtown east side if you don't believe me.