Guys, I know that this is not "directly" horn related, but I found this very interesting, and sooner or later we are all faced with this problem. For those of you that are amateur players and happen to have another career that provides good health coverage, then this might not be very interesting, but for the rank and file pro whose orchestra provides the minimum insurance or non at all, then this can be very important. Anyway I am sure the topic will soon die. Thanks Ralph for this insight. MIlton
--- On Wed, 8/19/09, Ralph Hall <ra...@brasshausmusic.com> wrote: From: Ralph Hall <ra...@brasshausmusic.com> Subject: Re: [Hornlist] NHR Healthcare in Europe To: "The Horn List" <horn@music.memphis.edu> Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 4:41 AM Hornlisters, Although now living in Germany, I am British and take a keen interest in what is happening back home. At least it means I have a more objective view of the travails of the NHS and a comparison to make between my experiences at home and those I have come across in Germany. The NHS is now a dinosaur. It is top heavy, being overloaded with bean counters who are beholden to government policy and dictats. The UK is besotted with 'targets'. So, in the health service there are a certain number of operations to get through in a given period, a number of hours in a week beyond which doctors cannot work and a number of hours in Accident and Emergency within which a new patient must be seen. This latter has given rise to serious accident cases being left in car parks outside the hospital until the way is clear to admit them within the specified period. I could go on (and I'm sure somebody will) but the model which served immediately after WW2 does no longer. It has become a political football. Today's news is a survey which reveals that on a daily basis 45,000 NHS employees are absent on sick leave. Irony or a symptom of a very sick health service? My experience of the German model is profoundly different. No waiting times, no risk of catching a virus because of poor hygiene, the very latest equipment and a friendly staff not stressed out through overwork and trying to reach impossible targets imposed from above by people who don't know what they are talking about. Whereas the NHS is a bottomless pit into which the Government pours billions of taxpayers' pounds, in Germany I have private health insurance which is cheap by UK standards and alleviated by factors such as unemployment, retirement and disability. My own view, for what it is worth, is that there should be a specific health insurance tax (either private for the wealthy or public for the less well favoured), commensurate with earnings, which is ring-fenced for health care and and topped up by government. Otherwise you end up with the ridiculous situation of an accountant/chief executive sitting behind a desk only being able to meet his imposed budget by heavy car park charges which then leaves a distraught parent marooned behind the barrier and unable to return home because when his child was bleeding to death, he neglected to pick up his wallet on his way to hospital. It has happened. The NHS was launched in the atmosphere of goodwill which was a legacy of the war and when the UK Government was disinterested enough to put party politics to one side and be philanthropic for the good of the country. I suggest none of these apply today. Ralph R. Hall (brasshausmusic.com) On 19 Aug 2009, at 04:10, Milton Kicklighter wrote: > Hey Guys, > > It might be interesting to discuss some of these health issues here on the > list. > Since I have a condition that pushed my retirement up a little, knowing about > how other systems in the world work might be helpful to all of us. > > Up to you guys though > > > --- On Tue, 8/18/09, Anne Megenity <amegen...@comcast.net> wrote: > > > From: Anne Megenity <amegen...@comcast.net> > Subject: Re: [Hornlist] NHR Healthcare in Europe > To: "The Horn List" <horn@music.memphis.edu> > Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 7:02 PM > > > Would appreciate also receiving that info, tia. amegen...@comcast.net > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Luke Zyla" <lz...@suddenlink.net> > To: "Horn List" <horn@music.memphis.edu> > Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:47 PM > Subject: [Hornlist] NHR Healthcare in Europe > > > Those of you outside the US may know of our debate on the issue of healthcare > in the US. Is there someone from the UK that could answer a few questions on > the UK healthcare system? Please contact me off list if you could. > > Thanks, > Luke Zyla > lz...@suddenlink.net > > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/amegenity%40comcast.net > > > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/kicklighgter%40yahoo.com > > > > > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/ralph%40brasshausmusic.com _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/kicklighgter%40yahoo.com _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
