4 ms·

You guys are doing it again -- idealizing the other side of the fence as if everything was all rainbows and unicorns in Europe. I used to live in Britain. Afte

You guys are doing it again -- idealizing the other side of the fence as if everything was all rainbows and unicorns in Europe. I used to live in Britain. After having gone to doctor a few times there, I'd rather have the customer-pays model of America. I was just pointing-out that it's (obviously) expensive over here.

robotresearcher 15y ago
If that doctor had told you you had cancer, your preference might be different.
mjw 15y ago
You can have the 'customer pays' model in Britain too if you want it - just roll up to a BUPA (or some other private) hospital and whip out your wallet.
arethuza 15y ago
And my entire accident prone family has had fantastically good services from the NHS on numerous occasions... So our anecdotes cancel out :-)
mahyarm 15y ago
I was just talking to an elderly person who had a heart attack 2 months ago. Before insurance cost was around $200'000 and if she went with the more invasive option, it could of been $500'000. For one bloody heart attack.
vacri 15y ago
The US and UK are both bad examples. Here in Aus we have universal healthcare and private - if you want to jump waiting lines or have carpet on the waiting room floor, pull out your wallet and go private. There are a few problems, but there is no perfect health system as there is always more demand than supply.
- hessenwolf 15y ago
  Interestingly, on the European continent, carpet is considered a bit shit.
  - waqf 15y ago
    Your ideas intrigue me ... seriously, I'd like to know more about this. Which nationalities are you speaking for, and in which contexts? For example, I believe Americans think Brits are very odd for having fitted carpets in bathrooms.
    - hessenwolf 15y ago
      Mostly, I know that Italians think carpet is illogical and disgusting. It dropped heavily in fashion in the mid-nineties in Ireland, and now parquet and tile are close to God. Now I think of it, the last couple of German hotels I stayed in had some type of carpet; very industrial looking. We Irish have for a long time tended to avoid carpet in bathrooms, but maybe we just don't piss as straight.
- pja 15y ago
  Um. The UK has universal healthcare (the NHS) and a parallel private system. I'm not sure why that make it a bad example in this context. (Admittedly, the NHS is not the best health care system in the world, but then we spend less on it than other countries do as a proportion of GDP.)

robotresearcher 15y ago

If that doctor had told you you had cancer, your preference might be different.

mjw 15y ago

You can have the 'customer pays' model in Britain too if you want it - just roll up to a BUPA (or some other private) hospital and whip out your wallet.

arethuza 15y ago

And my entire accident prone family has had fantastically good services from the NHS on numerous occasions... So our anecdotes cancel out :-)

mahyarm 15y ago

I was just talking to an elderly person who had a heart attack 2 months ago. Before insurance cost was around $200'000 and if she went with the more invasive option, it could of been $500'000. For one bloody heart attack.

vacri 15y ago

The US and UK are both bad examples. Here in Aus we have universal healthcare and private - if you want to jump waiting lines or have carpet on the waiting room floor, pull out your wallet and go private. There are a few problems, but there is no perfect health system as there is always more demand than supply.

hessenwolf 15y ago
Interestingly, on the European continent, carpet is considered a bit shit.
- waqf 15y ago
  Your ideas intrigue me ... seriously, I'd like to know more about this. Which nationalities are you speaking for, and in which contexts? For example, I believe Americans think Brits are very odd for having fitted carpets in bathrooms.
  - hessenwolf 15y ago
    Mostly, I know that Italians think carpet is illogical and disgusting. It dropped heavily in fashion in the mid-nineties in Ireland, and now parquet and tile are close to God. Now I think of it, the last couple of German hotels I stayed in had some type of carpet; very industrial looking. We Irish have for a long time tended to avoid carpet in bathrooms, but maybe we just don't piss as straight.
pja 15y ago
Um. The UK has universal healthcare (the NHS) and a parallel private system. I'm not sure why that make it a bad example in this context. (Admittedly, the NHS is not the best health care system in the world, but then we spend less on it than other countries do as a proportion of GDP.)