What’s all the kerfuffle about “Universal Healthcare”?

Okay, I know I don’t post here often, but I have to say something here about this “Universal Healthcare” hoopla that’s going on in the US as they finally catch on to what the rest of the developed world has known for a LONG time now.

Universal Healthcare is a GOOD thing.

I will note here that my opinions here are primarily related to my experiences in the UK, under the NHS. That being said, let’s begin.

Everyone (And I do mean everyone) is eligible to receive care under the NHS. Poor? You’re covered. Student? You’re covered too. Unemployed? Yup, you’re fine. Working? Sure, you can still take advantage of the NHS. Multi-Millionaire? You can get it too. When we say “Universal”, we mean “Everyone”.

You want a doctor? Go pick one out of the phone book. Need to go to hospital? Call 999 (The UK equivalent of 911), and they’ll take you to the closest one, no charge. Need medicine? If it’s available OTC, just go to your local pharmacy and buy it. If it’s prescription only, go to your doctor. They’ll make sure you actually, medically, need it, and give you a scrip for it. Take that scrip to your pharmacy, pay £8.50 (Around $17), no matter what it is or how many there are, and pick up your drugs. Oh, and if you’re a full-time student, unemployed or retired, you pay nothing. Need to see the optician, or a dentist? That’ll set you back around £30 ($60), unless you’re a student, unemployed or retired, as above, then it’s free. Working with computers? Then your employer is legally required to pay for an eye check-up every 6 months. Need glasses? You can choose NHS-subsidised frames (Generally not the most stylish, but they will certainly do the job), or you can go with a brand-name pair, of which part of the cost may be subsidised.

If you have plenty of money, or if your employer offers it, you can (also) choose to have private medical insurance. So if you need a prescription and you’re working, the insurance takes care of it. If you need a procedure, and the wait time is too long on the NHS, you can choose to have the procedure done in a private hospital on your private medical insurance. And typically, if you elect to have a procedure on the NHS, the private insurance will pay you the equivalent of how much it would have cost to be treated privately.

Doctors on the NHS are incentivised to keep their patients healthy. They get a bonus for things like helping patients quit smoking. In fact, doctors are paid on the quality of life of their patients, not the turnover rate or the cost saved.

It does have to be said, waiting times on the NHS are longer for some non-critical procedures, but as you have the option of going private to avoid that queue, it is a reasonable choice, and certainly better than no care at all.

At no point have I ever had a bureaucrat say “No”. In fact, I have never been refused any kind of medical treatment on the NHS. I’ve never had to wait overlong for a procedure (though in fairness, I’ve never had a life-threatening ailment), and I’ve never had a problem with the care I received.

I know full well it was paid for from the income tax taken from my paycheque, but the amount was never onerous and never left me destitute, and wages were paid well in relation to the job done and the costs involved. Indeed, looking at US wages and the cost of US health plans, an equivalent health plan would cost many times the amount I was paying for the entirety of my income tax.

Universal Healthcare is not socialism, just as a universal police service, or universal fire coverage is not socialism, just like a universal civil defence force (the army/navy/marines/coastguard) is not socialism. It’s the fulfilment of a fundamental human right. It’s the very first one, in fact. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. So, what’s the problem? And why don’t you have this already?