On this glorious election day, I thought I'd share some of my experiences with universal health care. Unlike a lot of Americans who get their knickers in a twist at the thought, I've been lucky enough to live under both the American health care system and the British National Health Service, so I've tasted both worlds. Since I've got what they call a "chronic condition" (don't worry, it's endocrine, not contagious), my medical care involves more than than a trip to the doctor when my nose starts to run, so I've had pretty extensive dealings with both systems. Here's how it's worked out for me:
First, let's just get this out of the way: the NHS is not the best example. All health care systems, private or public, are flawed, and the NHS has its own share of problems and maybe a few more. I certainly had my issues with it. The common problem with the NHS is the so-called "postcode lottery," in which where you live can have a pretty big impact on the quality of care. (Before you use that as an argument against universal health care, tell me that doesn't exist here. Now tell my grandfather who lives in a small mountain town in Western PA that he has the same health care options as me, who lives with seven miles of both UNC and Duke hospitals.) But the post code lottery is real. I visited someone in a hospital in Edinburgh once, and it was all shiny and new, meanwhile, I had surgery in a hospital in Glasgow and it was a bit like having an operation in some history museum dedicated to the Victorian era. (That's a picture of the hospital up there. It's fittingly called the Victoria Infirmary)
The other problem I had with the NHS was that my endocrinologist was inarguable insane. There was little I could do about it.
I'll tell you what I did get from the NHS. Free visits to the doctor, anytime, all the time (I had to go once a month). Free medication (most people pay a minimal fee for prescriptions, but since I have a chronic condition, all of my medication was free). Free lab work and any other testing I needed (I had to have blood work done monthly). Free surgery. Free emergency room care.
Since returning to the US, here is what I have gotten. I can't get insurance. Because I have an existing condition, no one will insure me, or the ones that will want a monthly payment that is literally more than my rent AND they will not cover anything to do with my condition for 18 months. I am not taking all of the medication I am supposed to be taking because I can't afford it. I have small job I work exclusively to cover the $300 worth of prescriptions I do pay for every month (it's a nice addition to my 18 hour course load and my full time workload). I am 6 months overdue for an endocrinologist visit and lab work, but I can't go yet because I'm still trying to pay off the $1200 bill my last trip left me with. I know I need to go, and I don't just know that intellectually. I know that because of the way I feel every day. You don't have to reach for your violin, but for instance, the pain in my hands is bad enough that I have to pop a cocktail of painkillers all day long, because hey, I type for a living. What else am I going to do?
(As an aside, did I mention that I don't qualify for federal student aid for my tuition because I make "too much" and that I had to pay $1800 in taxes this year, even though I only made enough to money to qualify for a $300 stimulus package payment instead of the full $600? This system really works!)
So, there you have it, my experiences under universal health care (which incidentally is, sadly, not what any candidate is suggesting) and the US health care system. I think you can understand my preferences.
A few weeks ago, one of my friends in Scotland passed away. I was talking to his wife a few days after it happened, and she said to me, "I just thank god for the NHS, because at least I don't have to worry about how I'm going to pay for his treatment on top of everything else." She's a teacher. I'm glad she doesn't have to worry about it either.
