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Recently, on the Saving and Gifting thread, I listed the organizations I support: “a reading service for the blind, the local hospice, Planned Parenthood, public radio and TV, and the [retirement] community’s benevolent fund”, to which I should have added Royal Oak, the US affiliate of the National Trust. I added that “having grown up in what some Americans no doubt consider a Socialist country [UK], I consider charity to be the job of the government, for which I am willing to pay taxes.”
It subsequently occurred to me, that if I still lived in the UK, I would not, in fact, need to make those contributions, aside from the National Trust. The BBC is funded by the annual license fee, plus “commercial subsidiaries “. Both the routine female medical care and abortions provided by Planned Parenthood come under the National Health Service (NHS), right? What about hospice and services for the blind?
Between the NHS and very low fees for tertiary education (it was free in my day), plus at least some private pensions with COLAs, it seems to me that Brits live with a lot less stress (and debt) than Americans.
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The NHS provides real benefits to folks, particularly low-income patients and people dealing with certain medical conditions.
But years of waiting lists, rationing, and concern about the level of care has led to the development of a sizable private health care industry in the UK – and a growing health insurance industry. Just like in the US, many employers offer private health care as a benefit. A lot of my UK-based relatives dip into both the NHS and private systems to optimize their family care. Not dissimilar to American retirees who have Medicare and private (legacy work) insurance.
My understanding is that Tory governments starved the NHS of money, and Brexit starved it of workers. Doesn’t invalidate the concept, though.
The private cover isn’t comparable to the US though. It’s largely for elective stuff and skipping waiting lists. For serious things like cardiac arrests, cancer or RTAs you’ll be in the NHS. Private hospitals don’t have ERs. Thus premia are relatively cheap.
That’s the key, less debt and stress in exchange for higher taxes and more services.
Americans don’t get it and probably will just keep complaining about their already relatively low taxes.