NHS versus Not

Aug 24, 2009 by cafebebemama

There’s been a lot of brouhaha in the US lately regarding National Health Care.  The poor NHS has been dragged through the wringer by under-informed US politicians and citizens and I just thought I would dip my toe in as an American expat permanently living in the UK. 

In case you’re not aware, US President Barack Obama is struggling to bring about the idea of a National Health Care programme in the US.  There is no National Health Care in the US.  If you don’t have your own insurance, either through your employer or out of your own pocket, you are not insured and therefore, are not eligible for medical care.  If there’s a major medical emergency and you have no insurance, you might be lucky enough to be cared for in the A&E (US Emergency Room) as a “charity case” but for regular medical care/treatment/prescriptions you’re out of luck.  And even when you are insured in the US, it all depends on what’s “covered” in your insurance policy which will determine how much extra you’ll have to pay. 

For example, when I worked in 1999-2002, I had the joy of having an employer who paid 75% of my insurance premium.  The additional 25% came out of my salary, which I never really saw anyway so that was fine.  That didn’t mean that I didn’t pay for medical care/treatment, however.  For every doctor visit, I paid a $25 office visit fee (a normal rate for many doctors is around $100 per visit).  If I had any prescriptions my insurance policy required a $10 co-pay fee for all prescriptions.  Prescriptions are VERY expensive in the US.  If you have no prescription coverage you will incur the full cost of the prescription which could be very expensive ($50-100 sometimes).  Strangely enough, birth control was never covered in any of the insurance packages I had whereas in the UK, it’s free.  Seems like a much better idea to me! 

When I went back to school in 2003, I became a STUDENT again, which meant that I had no insurance other than the ability to be treated at the University Health Centre.  Prescriptions were full cost and any additional medical care would be out of pocket.  Most students, when they are traditional age (18-22), tend to still be under their parent’s insurance so this helps with medical costs, but ultimately, the parent’s are paying for it.  What this ends up boiling down to is that many US citizens are not insured.  They simply cannot afford the costs of an insurance premium, their employer (if they are employed) doesn’t foot the bill and general medical and health care is unavailable.  You’d better be a mostly healthy person in these cases because otherwise, you’re going to be very miserable. 

When I came to reside in the UK in 2005, initially I couldn’t get signed on with the NHS.  My chronic allergies and asthma were flaring up and I had to seek medical care.  We did have to pay out of pocket for an office visit but prescriptions were still the standard rate.  Once I had my fiancée visa and subsequent Leave to Remain visa, I became eligible for care through the NHS.  All I had to do was register!  I was then entitled to any and all medical care and any and all prescriptions at the standard rate and birth control for FREE.  The UK is a wonderful place! 

This, by no means, makes the NHS the most wonderful service.  I have felt very much like a “number” when visiting my GP.  I know they have targets to meet- something like not spending more than 10 minutes with each patient- but come on…pretend you care about me!  The medical care received in the UK is far, far different than that in the US; much less invasive, much more about getting you out the door.  However, any time I have needed anything medically, all it took was a call to my local surgery and I had an appointment, if not the same day, within a day or two of ringing.  In the US you can wait weeks to see your doctor in regular office hours.  Thanks to the NHS, I have regular treatment for my allergies and asthma, free birth control when I needed it and a gorgeous and healthy daughter.  My birth experience and subsequent hospital stay was  rather miserable  but ultimately, both of us came out of it with little ill effects.  It’s easy to fault the NHS and criticise, which I have most definitely done but the bottom line is that if you need any kind of health/medical care and/or prescriptions in the UK, you will get it.  Sure, maybe you’ll be in a queue, but you will get it.  My daughter was visited by health visitors in the first few days after her birth IN OUR HOME!  In the US, you have a baby, they shovel you out the door and wish you well.  Unless your baby is poorly, you won’t see medical professionals unless you make an appointment and go to a clinic or to the hospital.  There’s no one coming to your door to make sure you’re alright. 

The NHS is not perfect but in my humble opinion as an American, a National Health Service is far better than having nothing at all.  Before you criticise the NHS, Americans, you need to understand what the NHS is all about and what it does for people.  A National Health programme can work and is not the creation of socialists.  Barack Obama is not a socialist.  He is just trying to do what many previous Presidents have said they would do…he’s trying to take care of America.  And there are a lot of people in America who need taking care of.  I doubt it will happen, a National Health Care programme in America.  I, for one, am very grateful that I live in the UK and have access to the NHS (I do pay taxes, fear ye not).  So, while I can’t quite say “I LOVE the NHS”, I do say “Thank You NHS” for being there when I needed you.