General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

I never could understand why Brits complain bitterly about the NHS but scream bloody murder at the thought of the NHS being scrapped. Or sold. Then one day it dawned on me. Brits think the only alternative to the NHS is no medical coverage at all, accompanied by huge bills only the hated rich can afford, the rest of the populace dying in the streets. It never occurs to them that what they need is a new system. As with so many things, people are afraid of change.

The last thing you want is rank amateurs like the government tending to your care. What the hell do they know?

Some years ago, I wrote a piece on here telling of a much-loved family member finding a lump in the morning; she was x-rayed and scanned that same afternoon, consulted with oncologists the next morning, and was operated on in the afternoon. Total, two days.

I was immediately informed by several blockheads here (offense intended) that I was lying. That couldn’t be done in England, so it certainly could not be done in the USA. In short, I made the whole thing up, lying about a person I dearly loved, lying about the medical services, just to score points in an obscure online Wigan chat site.

At that time my monthly health insurance, which includes all hospital treatment and care, including eyesight teeth and hearing, was $70 a month, covering my immediate family. It was that much for 26 years, ever since I retired, and only recently zoomed to $72 month, thanks to Biden’s inflation.

We have Medicare for the middle class, and we have Medicaid for the poor. It’s free. In that it is paid out of taxes.

I have been taking blood pressure pills for thirty years and never paid a dime for them. Some rare expensive drugs were all reduced in price by President Trump who made the pharmaceutical companies compete for business. (Biden has since overturned that and those prices are back up).

Doctors, surgeons, and nurses work every day of the week. (Many of the nurses are Brits.) Yes, including weekends. The poor, those with no insurance coverage at all simply go to the nearest ER and are taken care of at no cost.

No American is ever deprived of medical attention. Promptly and of high quality.

A development in the last decade are doctor and nurse manned facilities open 24/7. They are usually called Instant Care, or Immediate Care, or similar. These are large, usually free standing, buildings, brightly lit, busily manned. They NEVER close. Wake up at 1 am on a Christmas Day Sunday with the pain of the shingles, or of falling and breaking a leg, they take care of you right away. And they accept your insurance. They are great. My wife and I both used them in. separate emergencies and all we paid was a $10 per person co-fee, less than two burgers and fries at McDonalds. There are more than. 10,000 of these operations around the USA and more are under construction. For most Americans the Instant Care facilities are closer than a hospital. They planned it that way.


PS Has it ever occurred to you that the BBC and Channel 4 lie to you?


OK. Let the disbelief and abuse begin.