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talkpolitics2010-11-18 12:25 am
green-man-2010.livejournal.com) wrote in talkpolitics2010-11-18 12:25 am
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BUPA and healthcare.
In the UK, a company known as BUPA is offering private healthcare to anyone who wants and can afford it.
This is not a replacement for the NHS, but rather, it runs alongside it.
A lot of firms will take out health insurabnce on their top people, or even offer it to their rank and file employees as a tax deductable 'perk' of the job.
Now, this might mean that you have an accident or illness, and instead of going on a six month waiting list to get seen on the NHS, you get the option of 'going private' and getting seen to sooner.
Now, to some , this is seen as grossly unfair. If you have money, you can ' jump the queue', they say.
However, those in favour of BUPA look at it another way - they still pay for the NHS, however, by taking out private Healthcare on top of this, they enable the NHS to get to other people faster- "let's be honest, if I never had BUPA, I would be in front of someone else in the queue - by taking myself off to BUPA, I free up a doctor, an operating theatre and a hospital bed for somebody else. And I still pay for that in my taxes", thus argues one BUPA patient.
Of course, the 'safety net' is still there for those who cannot afford BUPA, and for all that people from the Daily Mail talk about "Britain's third rate, Third World health service", you really have to go to the Third World yourself and take a look.
Ok, we call it ' the developing world' these days, but go there sometime and take a look.
Fact - in hospitals in the UK, we have incubators for premature babies, we have CAt scanners and ECGs, we have vaccines and specialists and X ray machines.
In some countries in the world, they do not have electricity or even proper sanitation.
The NHS may not get to see you as soon as you like, but I will maintain that in the UK, you stand a better chance of living to be five years old, and living longer past your 50th birthday than you would in a lot of other places. If you know different, then show me.
Britain is one of the few places on Earth where you get a public *and* a private healthcare program to take care of you. I wonder what our community makes of this.
A two tier healthcare system : Is it a good thing, a bad thing or does it make no difference? Why do you think so?
Over to you.
This is not a replacement for the NHS, but rather, it runs alongside it.
A lot of firms will take out health insurabnce on their top people, or even offer it to their rank and file employees as a tax deductable 'perk' of the job.
Now, this might mean that you have an accident or illness, and instead of going on a six month waiting list to get seen on the NHS, you get the option of 'going private' and getting seen to sooner.
Now, to some , this is seen as grossly unfair. If you have money, you can ' jump the queue', they say.
However, those in favour of BUPA look at it another way - they still pay for the NHS, however, by taking out private Healthcare on top of this, they enable the NHS to get to other people faster- "let's be honest, if I never had BUPA, I would be in front of someone else in the queue - by taking myself off to BUPA, I free up a doctor, an operating theatre and a hospital bed for somebody else. And I still pay for that in my taxes", thus argues one BUPA patient.
Of course, the 'safety net' is still there for those who cannot afford BUPA, and for all that people from the Daily Mail talk about "Britain's third rate, Third World health service", you really have to go to the Third World yourself and take a look.
Ok, we call it ' the developing world' these days, but go there sometime and take a look.
Fact - in hospitals in the UK, we have incubators for premature babies, we have CAt scanners and ECGs, we have vaccines and specialists and X ray machines.
In some countries in the world, they do not have electricity or even proper sanitation.
The NHS may not get to see you as soon as you like, but I will maintain that in the UK, you stand a better chance of living to be five years old, and living longer past your 50th birthday than you would in a lot of other places. If you know different, then show me.
Britain is one of the few places on Earth where you get a public *and* a private healthcare program to take care of you. I wonder what our community makes of this.
A two tier healthcare system : Is it a good thing, a bad thing or does it make no difference? Why do you think so?
Over to you.
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