Cyclone Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 IT'S NOT FREE. They get thousands per year out of me and almost everybody else working full time with any kind of advanced training. It's just a compulsory insurance scheme in which the better off subsidies the very poor. Both in the form of extra contributions and charges from which the poor are exempt. Free at the point of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 IT'S NOT FREE. They get thousands per year out of me and almost everybody else working full time with any kind of advanced training. It's just a compulsory insurance scheme in which the better off subsidies the very poor. Both in the form of extra contributions and charges from which the poor are exempt. Would it be better to let the poor die then? Think of the money you'd save! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Free at the point of service. Then say that. Besides it's not free to me even at point of service. At the very least I have to pay prescription charges which dramatically exceed the actual cost of the medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Only if you're prescribed something at the GP. Get hit by a car and your surgery and medicine will be free to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Would it be better to let the poor die then? Think of the money you'd save! No. But saying the NHS is free is a lie. I have advocated abolishing the NHS, although this is a recent position results from the fact that they've let me down seriously. I may get over it and change my mind. Either way, I would not support an alternative which did not make reasonable provision for the poor. ---------- Post added 03-11-2015 at 12:12 ---------- Only if you're prescribed something at the GP. Get hit by a car and your surgery and medicine will be free to you. I expect I will be on prescription meds for my post hospital recovery which I shall have to pay for. That's not even the point. It's not free. Any more than the car I get off my insurance if mine gets stolen would be free. It's a compulsory insurance system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtkate Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Then say that. Besides it's not free to me even at point of service. At the very least I have to pay prescription charges which dramatically exceed the actual cost of the medication. Until you need cancer drugs, then suddenly the prescription charges will seem entirely reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Until you need cancer drugs, then suddenly the prescription charges will seem entirely reasonable. Maybe. Although any insurance system works that way. Car insurance seems expensive, until you get sued for hitting somebody's ferrari. It's still not free. This is what drives me nuts. It's only free if you're sufficiently poor that you make no net contribution to the state. Even then you know that if you work yourself up and make a go of it they'll be straight into your pockets. Before we can even have a reasoned debate about healthcare provision in the UK, I need the lie that the current system is "free" to be dropped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtkate Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Maybe. Although any insurance system works that way. Well yes exactly. So at the moment your complaint (part of it at least) is that you are getting poor value for money from your 'insurance'. But as you said that's how insurance works, it ebbs and flows, sometimes you win sometimes you lose, but unlike private care, your quote won't go up when you claim on it or get diagnosed with a chronic condition. ---------- Post added 03-11-2015 at 12:32 ---------- Would you describe the police as free? Or the fire service? Because the funding model is no different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Well yes exactly. So at the moment your complaint (part of it at least) is that you are getting poor value for money from your 'insurance'. But as you said that's how insurance works, it ebbs and flows, sometimes you win sometimes you lose, but unlike private care, your quote won't go up when you claim on it or get diagnosed with a chronic condition. There's competition between car insurance providers. The NHS has a monopoly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailyBoy Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Maybe. Although any insurance system works that way. Car insurance seems expensive, until you get sued for hitting somebody's ferrari. It's still not free. This is what drives me nuts. It's only free if you're sufficiently poor that you make no net contribution to the state. Even then you know that if you work yourself up and make a go of it they'll be straight into your pockets. Before we can even have a reasoned debate about healthcare provision in the UK, I need the lie that the current system is "free" to be dropped. 'Free' is the label given to it by the general public, which fits into the NHS principal 'that it be free at the point of delivery'. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/nhscoreprinciples.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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