2. The High Cost Of Healthcare
British people differ in their opinions of the NHS but it's fair to say that whilst it's not perfect, the NHS does a good job overall. That impression is only reinforced when the NHS is compared with the best the USA can offer in healthcare: a hodgepodge of competing networks and insurance companies that seemingly try to cooperate with each other as little as possible. Getting sick in the USA is a worrying prospect; there's not only the illness or injury to cope with but also the accompanying mortal blow to the wallet (and that's
with insurance). The main fact to bear in mind about the US system is this: American patients get poorer health outcomes than British patients even though the USA spends over twice as much per person. Moreover, the paperwork in the States is a nightmare. Consider the following: when a person is anaesthetised and about to go under the knife, he isn't in the best position to ask whether each member of the surgical team is in network and covered by his insurance. That's an actual issue encountered by patients in the USA. If being threatened with bankruptcy each time even a minor operation is performed isn't bad enough, the hospitals like to flaunt their wealth at every opportunity - their lobbies are stuffed full of grand pianos, indoor waterfalls and over-stuffed armchairs that wouldn't be out of place in the Hilton. If only a fraction of that obscene profiteering from the sick and dying could be diverted back into, say, treating people.