UK physicians are forced to admit the inevitable truth about Government-run health care:
British doctors will take the historic step of admitting for the first time that many health treatments will be rationed in the future because the NHS cannot cope with spiralling demand from patients.In a major report that will embarrass the government, the British Medical Association will say fertility treatment, plastic surgery and operations for varicose veins and minor childhood ailments, such as glue ear, are among a long list of procedures in jeopardy.
James Johnson, the BMA chairman, will warn that patients face a bleak future because they will increasingly be denied treatments. He will urge the NHS to be much more explicit about what it can realistically afford to do and ask political leaders to engage in an open, honest debate about rationing.
(via Socialized Medicine)
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{ 13 comments }
Michael Moore will be so upset… which is usually a good thing. He’s pretty good at denying reality, though, and living in his own magical fantasy world, so I’d expect that’s what he’ll probably resort to again.
I’m curious:
How many US insurance plans, including medicare, pay for plastic surgery, vein stripping, and the other procedures mentioned here?
Let’s compare apples to apples.
Don’t you love it when someone pontificates about comparing “apples to apples” when they haven’t even read the link…from the article:
“Some PCTs have been bitterly criticised for refusing to pay for expensive new cancer drugs; treatment to prevent older people going blind through age-related eye degeneration and operations to help obese patients lose weight through stomach-stapling.”
Each is commonly done in this country. Try reading the link next time.
Oddly, I did read the link.
http://tinyurl.com/2ou8cg
http://tinyurl.com/2sxcf3
http://tinyurl.com/342ew5
If you’re pressed for time just use the last link. I think you’ll see that the case I am making is more than adequate to address your concerns.
Also … separate issue that relates to many commenters on this site. Is it so hard to put in a name so that you can be addressed?
Evan-
I’ve had three vein strippings performed over the last 28 years, all paid for by insurance. Chances are I’ll need another operation in the next couple of years. I have an extreme case, and actually began to develop them in high school. I never knew they could grow back though.
Emmetropia
Not too much new here really. Most of these treatments have been next to unavailable for a long time – made unobtainable by long waiting lists
John
Those poor incontinent women in the UK. I can only imagine what the oder of urine and diapers can do to a crumpet and tea party.
if the UK is so hard up for money, tell me why they spend money on homeopathy, acupuncture, and a bunch of other BS treatments?
This is the inevitable consequence of a nationalized system. The quacks come into play (chiropractors, acupuncturists, etc) come begging for govt money. The courts force the govt to let them in (or the dumb ass govt voluntarily lets them in), costs skyrocket and everyboyd gets punished.
Quite amusing that the UK can afford to pay for homeopathy but cant afford to pay for cancer treatments.
BS treatments are cheap. Homeopathic medicines are, by definition, equivalent to distilled water. If they “work”, they are cheaper than the alternative. When the placebo doesn’t work, and the patient dies, that is by far cheaper for the state than a surviving dependent.
I got an A in my peds rotation, but never learned what glue ear was. Anyone?
b
I’m near enough to Canada so the specialists in my area are thriving from all the business North of the border. Canadians with “free” national healthcare come down in droves and pay in US dollars because they don’t want to wait months and months for diagnostics and procedures that are scheduled for the next day or week in the US. The NHS in the UK is about the same for wait times which spurs a huge amount of “medical tourism” taking plenty of hard cash with it. Believe it or not, private insurance does a better job for more people for less money overall. I’m not a big fan of HMOs and some insurance companies, but I’ll gladly take the lesser evil.
Odd how everyone in the US talks about Canadian medical tourism, but nobody talks about American trips across the borders south and north to get prescriptions.
If the Canadian system is a failure because of the existence of any medical tourism, isn’t then that also an indictment of our system? Is the system that creates the least medical tourism then by default the best?
“BS treatments are cheap. Homeopathic medicines are, by definition, equivalent to distilled water. If they “work”, they are cheaper than the alternative. When the placebo doesn’t work, and the patient dies, that is by far cheaper for the state than a surviving dependent.”
This is incorrect. When someone uses homeopathy or another BS treatment and doesnt get better, they usually switch to regular “expensive” medicine before they die.
Its very rare that people stick to homeopathy and die because of it. They end up using both homeopathy AND conventional treatment and the result is a cost that 5 times higher due to delayed “real” treatment along with the extra costs of hte phony treatments.
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