I'm sure the American love for the NHS has been discussed already
but I found this strangely hilarious -
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8198084.stm

they managed to choose a wonderful example of NHS failure in Steven Hawking, a Brit, who has used the NHS and survived. wtf? And some are apparently saying we Brits are only supporting the NHS because under our communist regime we wouldn't get treatment if we said anything negative about it.

Ah, I do hope some imaginary deity blesses them, poor Republicans.
( ascorbate, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:02, 10 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Gosh
They really are quite mind numbingly dense. 'This man, who is coincidentally ALIVE, would be DEAD now if it were up to the NHS!'. This would be same NHS he has been using for his entire life, then...

What? No, sorry, what?? I can actually feel my brain melting. How can they possibly say that free-for-everyone, widely accessible healthcare is a poor model? I agree it's not perfect, but it's a lot fucking better than a system where you can only get medical help if you can afford it or have insurance...
(berk, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:11, Reply)

My friend in the states turned 18
had no insurance etc and got ill. She has to save up about $2000 to have a bowel operation. It took her a long time.

Over here in the UK I have had 6 operations that required a general anaesthetic in the last 5 years. It cost me nothing and the longest wait I had was 3 months. The quickest was that same week.

Our system isn't perfect but free healthcare for all should be a basic human right.
( Peej, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:14, Reply)

And........................
We have to option to have the same as the states. More if we pay for it.

Argh this makes me cross. So many people slag off the NHS but where would they be without it!
( Peej, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:15, Reply)

yup
the journalists/republicans who are wanking on about this are spectacularly dense - reading some of their placards on the news this morning was hilarious - they do seriously seem to think that we're all communist oppressed masses over here. clearly none have read this website...

(btw, any american b3tans - I know you're not this barking, so please don't take offense :-))
( ascorbate, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:18, Reply)

Stephen Hawking's British????
But he speaks with an American accent.

Brilliant ventriloquist too - I've never seen his lips move yet!
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:27, Reply)

I love you
more than life itself.
(Ethelred is watching cheese grow, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 15:41, Reply)

It never occurred to me
to think that that was why some retards over the pond think he's not British...

I feel a bit silly now.
(berk, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 16:16, Reply)

I spend
$159 a month on insurance. My co-pay at the doctors is $40. My hospital deductible for emergency room is $100.
An overnight hospital stay means I have to pay a deductible of $1,000.
My birth control jab is $320 every 3 months, plus the doctor co-pay.

Healthcare over here is about greed, not about healthcare.
( Batshitmentalist is sane for once, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 16:32, Reply)

agreed
I was spending $130/month on insurance, topped up by my employers (who paid $390/month), and then I had a co-pay/charge/deductible - whatever - of $100 every time I went to the clinic. Plus other charges, such as blood tests, ultrasound scans, etc etc. Over here, I am getting free prescriptions and dental care for the next year due to my condition.
And the taxes in the US were pretty much the same % as they are here - cost of living wasn't much different, and pay was a lot less. Think I'll stay in Britain thanks very much.
( ascorbate, Fri 14 Aug 2009, 16:48, Reply)

Sadly, if we do an NHS type thing here,
the taxes will increase.

Besides, people all over the country seem to forget, we DO have a form of universal healthcare. Every town large enough to have a hospital has at least one hospital that provides free care to people who cannot afford it. If they fail to do so, they will lose state and federal funding.
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Fri 14 Aug 2009, 19:40, Reply)