I received an email from a reader named Allen who is living in the UK. He wrote to me about John McCain’s VP choice of Sarah Palin and mentioned that he’s an American whose job brought him to England. Out of curiosity I asked his opinion of the national health care system over there.
Allen did not have much good to say about it. He said the first time he lived in England was from 1990 to 1993. They utilized private medical insurance at the time and had no complaints. This time, he said, he sees a big difference in the country. People are now encouraged to utilize private medical insurance to make up for what lacks under the current system.
He told me of a man who is fighting the National Health Service who was refused a drug protocol he needs to save his life. Without it his prognosis is month to month but with it he could live three (or maybe more?) years. He told me that breast cancer exams for women don’t begin until the age of 50.
He directed me to an article about how the NHS staff is under political pressure to spin headlines. While reading that article I noticed the following headlines: “Mums at risk in hospitals”, “Age discrmination within NHS” and “The price of life”. (Note that after refreshing the page some of the headlines changed.) None of that sounds very good to me.
Allen also told me that he lived in Canada for a few years. While he was there his assistant’s mother was denied advanced treatment for breast cancer and subsequently died.
Allen has lived in England, Canada, China, Australia, Korea and Singapore. He said he hopes he is back in the USA should he ever become sick. I hope he is, too.
Hillary Clinton’s stance on health care was the major reason I switched my support to John McCain. This was mid-May, before she suspended her campaign and long before the incredible Palin came into the picture. Relatives in Europe can attest first-hand to the abyssmal consequences of nationalized health care. Moreover, don’t most of us realize that the more the Federal government gets involved, the less efficiency there will be? Let’s let each state deal with its own residents, and keep the Feds out of the picture. At least on a state level, there would be more accountability. I’ll be interested to hear Palin’s viewpoint.
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I would rather fight an insurance company than the federal government. If you know anyone on Medicare or Medicaid you get an idea of what nationalized health care would be like. Going to the doctor will be like going to the DMV. No thanks.
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When you look at it from a Socialist viewpoint, why should they keep their elders around? It’s frightening. Thanks for posting this, and thanks to Allen for a firsthand account of what life and death can be all about.
Maggie
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Disturbing, isn’t it Maggie. When we are no longer individuals, just disposable members of the collective.
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Denise-Mary, Please convert as many people to the McCain-Palin cause as you can. I beg you please help us save us!
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One of my co-workers wives is from Canada and she too does not have a good opinion of nationalized healthcare. Her stories are pretty worrisome.
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Women especially should be very concerned about a nationalized system. I look at how much my wife goes just in preventative medicine. GYN especially. Womens health cannot afford that system.
Think about children too. My god, I cannot imagine my son not getting the right care.
Maggie, your point well made. Maybe this is the Dems way of controling the baby boomer population issue while at the same time saving social security for the future. Hell of a way of doing it.
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Hey! You did a great job with this blog. I loved hat you wish for | The Lonely Conservative
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