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> Suddenly I appreciate my Canadian single payer health care system a lot more, even with the small problems it has. It's been a long time since I lived in Can

> Suddenly I appreciate my Canadian single payer health care system a lot more, even with the small problems it has. It's been a long time since I lived in Canada, but one of the "small problems" was that prescription medicine wasn't covered. You need private health insurance, or you need to be covered by one of many confusing provincial health care plans. Generally, you can find a way, but at least 15 years ago (when I left) it could be pretty dicey. I remember several of my friends having difficulty affording their insulin when I was in university -- too rich to qualify for aide, too poor to be able to pay for their life saving drugs without hardship. My dad (who still lives there) tells me things have improved, but he still pays more for prescription drugs than I do (living in Japan) I think. The UK's NHS seems to be a better system to compare to ;-) I lived there for 2 years and was really surprised at what the NHS covers. Interestingly they will even pay for emergency treatment for non-residents who happen to be in the country!

cheerlessbog 8y ago
As well as emergency care being free for non residents, contraceptives and STI treatment are too [1] [1] https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/visiting-or-moving-to-england/visitors-from-outside-the-european-economic-area-eea/ https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/visiting-or-mo...
jdietrich 8y ago
>The UK's NHS seems to be a better system to compare to ;-) I lived there for 2 years and was really surprised at what the NHS covers. The caveat is all of the stuff that the NHS won't cover. The service is largely free at the point of use, but there has always been some element of rationing which has drastically increased in recent years due to Conservative government cuts. Mental health gets the short end of the stick in this respect - it represents 23% of the disease burden but only 13% of NHS spending. Most patients with a mental health condition will never see a psychiatrist and receive no more than six half-hour sessions of psychotherapy. If esketamine does prove to be effective, the NHS is exceedingly unlikely to offer it to more than a handful of patients until the patent expires. https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/rationing-in-the-nhs https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/rationing-in-the-n...

cheerlessbog 8y ago

As well as emergency care being free for non residents, contraceptives and STI treatment are too [1] [1] https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/visiting-or-moving-to-england/visitors-from-outside-the-european-economic-area-eea/ https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/visiting-or-mo...

jdietrich 8y ago

>The UK's NHS seems to be a better system to compare to ;-) I lived there for 2 years and was really surprised at what the NHS covers. The caveat is all of the stuff that the NHS won't cover. The service is largely free at the point of use, but there has always been some element of rationing which has drastically increased in recent years due to Conservative government cuts. Mental health gets the short end of the stick in this respect - it represents 23% of the disease burden but only 13% of NHS spending. Most patients with a mental health condition will never see a psychiatrist and receive no more than six half-hour sessions of psychotherapy. If esketamine does prove to be effective, the NHS is exceedingly unlikely to offer it to more than a handful of patients until the patent expires. https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/rationing-in-the-nhs https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/rationing-in-the-n...