Gosh, that's shocking!

Our NHS in the UK is not perfect. All hospials and other medical institutions suffer funding cuts, staff shortages, equipment shortages, etc., and patients have to suffer long waiting lists, bed shortages, etc. The Covid pandemic doesn't help. Still, I'm sure I'm right in saying that nobody in the UK wants to abandon the "free at the point of delivery" system. This system is possible because it is supported by taxpayers, i.e., the government.

An elderly lady down the road from my house fainted in the kitchen in December. She was taken to the local hospital by ambulance, and was admitted straight away, no question asked. After many tests, they found that the faint was caused by one of her heart valves closing up. She stayed in hospital for two weeks but had to be discharged because her bed was needed for someone else who has a more serious heart condition. Not an ideal situation for her. Still, while the local hospital has a long list of surgeries, they contacted a specialist hospital in London so that she can have an operation next month. Otherwise, she would have to be on the local waiting list for 12 months at least.

The ambulance service, the tests, the treatment, the medicines, the hospital meals, and everything else the lady received were all free, and the operation she is going to have in London will also be free. That is the beauty of "free at the point of delivery".

A lot of people on SS cannot afford the supplemental insurance.

@MyTVC15 mine is free with Excellus

I am responsible for maintaining my health, but despite my healthy lifestyle, I could still develop cancer, for example, which couldn't be my fault. I would then have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for treatment until I eventaully run out of money and go below the poverty line so that I am finally entitled to Medicaid... Is that how Medicaid works? Sorry for being ignorant.

That's correct.

@Theresa_N Everyone should be able to access the healthcare services they need without financial discrimination.

@Ryo1 You know a lot of illnesses that are blamed on the patient are also not the patients fault. Diabetes is an example of one that gets a lot of finger pointing, but really it is hereditary and if you develop neuropathy from it, that would not be "your fault either". I wonder if you think that people who did not live your "healthy life style" should be charged more?

@racocn8 You get the point of the meme, though, don't you?

@Ryo1 I get the meme. I'm totally in favor of uplifting the physical, mental and financial well-being of those making <$150k. Campaigning with memes that distract from their own message is self-defeating though.

I wonder if the reason that we do not have medicare for all is that then everyone would want medical care and the system is well aware that there really is not enough care to go around. The collapse of our health care system that we are witnessing right now was predicted a long time ago. We have known for a few decades that when the baby boomers all got old and sick that there would not be enough room in the nursing homes and hospitals . By "room" I mean the staff to man those rooms. There are fewer members of the following generation to support all those boomers. It was probably when that prediction was made that the nursing home industry started to come under the control of big corporations, because they saw that it was probably going to become a big money making industry. I worked in that industry for 20 years and I will tell you that the residents were paying huge amounts of money that was not going to the overworked staff. And I can tell you, that even on the best of days in a nursing home, the staff is over worked and the residents are underserved. But the corporation does just fine.

I have to add, when I worked in the healthcare industry, (before the ACA) a new employee had to wait 90 days before they could opt for insurance BUT, the insurance cost more than the pay of the nurses aides (the hardest working people on earth) the dietary aides, activities ( mostly done by volunteers, but there are some that are also paid), housekeeping and laundry staff would cover.

If I wanna get trolled, I can always count of Agnostic. ffs

@HankHunter13 It is either trolled or ignored. You are right.

@MyTVC15 It's No Wonder This Site Isn't Growing Leaps And Bounds. It's A Shame.