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NHS = doubleplusbad
Aug. 13th, 2009 12:52 pmSomething alarming happened this week, something which has the British media up in arms. Our special friends, our close cousins across the Atlantic, decided that we run an ‘evil’ and ‘Orwellian’ state. The focus of their ire? Our very own NHS.
Brits were baffled. People were genuinely mystified, even hurt, that (some) Americans had turned on us so quickly. The British embassy said that it would ‘quietly correct erroneous reporting’, which came as little comfort. And then came the anger: the Twitter # tags. (welovetheNHS!), Facebook groups, newspaper debates, blogs, the repelling of wankerface Tories trying to paint our healthcare as woefully inadequate. Why would Americans believe this claptrap, people ask?
Of course, very few Americans believe this rubbish. You Americans here on my LJ are my friends because you’re not these hatred-spewing, fact-phobic imbeciles. And if you do have quibbles about socialised healthcare, you debate it. You don't Godwin yourself by comparing Obama to Hitler. However, I am going to write about this and set some things straight because it’s the right thing to do. I am not debating the ins and outs of Obama's healthcare plan (because in truth, I don't know the ins and outs of it), but what I will do is explain Why The NHS is Not a Bad Thing.
First off: prescriptions on the NHS. All prescriptions are at a set price, which admittedly can sometimes work against you (your chemist will usually advise if buying over the counter is cheaper). The set price is ₤7.20 per item in England, ₤4 in Scotland. You pay this for anything from an inhaler to medicine for the most rare conditions. In Wales, by the way, prescriptions cost a big fat 0.
But what about the cost to the NHS itself? Drugs companies certainly don’t charge them ₤0 for their precious pills. Being a nosy sort, I used to enjoy flicking through the drugs index on idle afternoons whilst working at the Mental Health Unit. I remember how surprised I was when I saw the price listings for a 28-day course of something such as Paroxetine: over ₤300. That’s ₤293 cost absorbed by the NHS each month you are on those pills, the full ₤300 if you’re on low income or unemployed. Or Welsh.
This is socialised healthcare.
( But what about the death panels? )
Brits were baffled. People were genuinely mystified, even hurt, that (some) Americans had turned on us so quickly. The British embassy said that it would ‘quietly correct erroneous reporting’, which came as little comfort. And then came the anger: the Twitter # tags. (welovetheNHS!), Facebook groups, newspaper debates, blogs, the repelling of wankerface Tories trying to paint our healthcare as woefully inadequate. Why would Americans believe this claptrap, people ask?
Of course, very few Americans believe this rubbish. You Americans here on my LJ are my friends because you’re not these hatred-spewing, fact-phobic imbeciles. And if you do have quibbles about socialised healthcare, you debate it. You don't Godwin yourself by comparing Obama to Hitler. However, I am going to write about this and set some things straight because it’s the right thing to do. I am not debating the ins and outs of Obama's healthcare plan (because in truth, I don't know the ins and outs of it), but what I will do is explain Why The NHS is Not a Bad Thing.
First off: prescriptions on the NHS. All prescriptions are at a set price, which admittedly can sometimes work against you (your chemist will usually advise if buying over the counter is cheaper). The set price is ₤7.20 per item in England, ₤4 in Scotland. You pay this for anything from an inhaler to medicine for the most rare conditions. In Wales, by the way, prescriptions cost a big fat 0.
But what about the cost to the NHS itself? Drugs companies certainly don’t charge them ₤0 for their precious pills. Being a nosy sort, I used to enjoy flicking through the drugs index on idle afternoons whilst working at the Mental Health Unit. I remember how surprised I was when I saw the price listings for a 28-day course of something such as Paroxetine: over ₤300. That’s ₤293 cost absorbed by the NHS each month you are on those pills, the full ₤300 if you’re on low income or unemployed. Or Welsh.
This is socialised healthcare.
( But what about the death panels? )
