🚀 go-pugleaf

We have been having a little discussion on one of the email lists, and
thought it might be useful to raise the discussion here also.

I worked in Canada for a year. I worked in the NHS for 13 years. I am
aware if you have money and pay 3 times what the care costs in the UK
you can get quality care in the US (Canada is somewhat better as you
are not necessarily turned away if you are poor). That's not really
the problem, the problem is when you have no money, then you can just
not have decent (or any in some cases) care. The Boston area has a
very poor perinatal mortality, despite having the very highest quality
medical care available if you have the money.  Poor people there do
not attend pre-natal care as it is not free, but are admitted as
emergencies with no history etc. Mistakes are inevitable in this sort
of environment.

The NHS at its best (which it is well past now) gave care to anyone
that came through the door.

It was more efficient than the US system because it dealt with the
whole population, and not just the well off. Giving treatment free at
source is also individually more efficient. The patient in the US
system can get free care only as an emergency, and this is always more
expensive than dealing with the patient earlier.

US, and unfortunately these days UK philosophy, is that customers
replace patients, and a customer buys, poor people are excluded from
the system. Exclusion is increasingly an important issue. Poor poeple
are now being excluded from education (e.g.) so there is less chance
of them getting the high paying job which allows a good quality of
life, or good care if their health fails. Recent figures in the UK
show the unemployed and poor peoples' health is deteriorating. This is
a national disgrace.

Note however that I have only been forwarding economic arguments
(albeit very simple ones), the moral question which is relevant to a
socialist perspective is clearly not comprehensible to most people
raised in a 100% capitalist system.

Denis
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Denis Anthony, CSV, Warwick University, Coventry CV4 7AL, England