Calm down, folks.
As an American I well understand where this rant is coming from. I don't have any input at all on the NHS, but I have plenty on the US system.

For one person, health insurance tends to cost the employee around $500 a month or so for the minimum insurance. This usually means a co-pay at the doctor's office of around $20, a co-pay of around the same for a prescription and a larger co-pay if you go to the Emergency Room. If you go to a specialist- say, and ear doctor- without having first gone to your general practitioner for him to look at it and say "Yup, you need to schedule an appointment with an ear doctor" the insurance will not cover the visit at all.

And that's if you happen to be lucky enough to have health insurance.

I do not have insurance at all- I'm a contract employee, so even basic major medical is about $300/month if I have to pay it all myself, and that's more than I can spare at this point. If I get seriously injured, I'm fucked.

And if you aren't wealthy and can't choose a doctor? Good luck. A friend of mine recently lost her mother. Why? Because she went in for a colonoscopy and the doctors punctured her intestine in FIVE PLACES. That's gross incompetence to say the least- but they were in the only hospital her insurance covered, and seeing the doctors her insurance would pay for.

And if you have an existing condition, such as the above mentioned diabetes or a heart condition or hepatitis, many insurance companies will refuse to cover you. What do you do then?

So while the above rant may be a bit strident, please remember- we're hurting pretty badly over here.

(Note to the new person- don't come in and rant at the British like that. You're making us Americans less welcome in here. Please reconsider your tone, okay?)

EDIT: And someone asked about the tax rates over here? Typically income tax is around 30%, sales tax is around 7% (I've seen it anywhere between 3% and 15%), and there are local housing taxes and the like as well. (I think my house tax is around $2000/year, though I would have to look it up.) We also get taxed in the form of tolls on roads, though they don't call it a tax- but if you need to use an expressway, have your change ready. And now, thanks to the financial shit hitting the turbine blades, all of this is likely to jump a LOT.

I don't have any idea how this compares with yours, but would be interested in finding out.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 3 Oct 2008, 13:05, Reply)