From: "Bob W"
I think that many even here in Canada are frustrated that
> they can't get faster service if they pay for it (like you
> can in the US). That would, in the minds of many (including
> me!) undermine the idea of universality that's now the
> bedrock of our system. If one can pay to get to the front of
> the line, then someone with less money will have to wait
> longer. Some may think this is fair, some (like me) don't.
>
You're assuming that the payers and the non-payers are competing for the
same resource, but that's not necessarily the case. In the UK people can use
private medicine if they can afford it, and can thereby get treated more
quickly than they would under the NHS, but it's not necessarily at the
expense of other people because they are using a different pool of resources
in many cases.
To some extent it's a completely different pool. For example, when I first
had ear problems I used to private medical insurance to get to see a
specialist quickly - the NHS waiting time was 6 months just to see the
specialist and I was almost suicidal with the discomfort. My first ear
operation followed swiftly after that, in a hospital that does not serve the
NHS, so no NHS patient was disadvantaged. Following the operation I switched
back to the NHS and was seen by the same specialist for about 18 months.
However, I must say that there is some sharing of resources between public
and private, but the queues take this into account so people are not
actually bumped backwards if a private patient happens to come along.
All my subsequent operations have been on the NHS, and have been technically
better than the first because the man who looks after me now seems to be one
of the world's top men in the field
(http://www.londonentsurgeons.co.uk/david_bowdler.html) whereas the first
guy seems to have been a bit of a butcher.
I think the waiting time I was expected to put up with at first was a
mistake by the GP, who wasn't aware of the seriousness of my condition - it
had taken them literally years to recognise and refer to a specialist. If I
had stamped my feet and screamed and screamed I think I could have got a
referral without going private.
When they do recognise a serious condition they work very quickly and get
you to a specialist and under the knife very quickly - something that has
been of use to several family members as well as to friends and
acquaintances.
And I'll just add that I think that's the health care model we should be
following here in the U.S. The only effect NHS has on the profits of
private insurance companies in the UK is from forcing them to actually
compete; to offer something of value for the premium dollar.
It is, in fact, the model I'm finally under now with the VA. I just
shouldn't have had to wait until I was 60 years old to get it.
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