You definitely DON’T want a healthcare system that follows our model. Yes, our taxes are probably lower than yours, but healthcare can be expensive for uninsured individuals and insurance costs a fortune.

Interesting to me that the only people reading and replying to this post (so far) are those living overseas.

I hear the French healthcare system is very good.

Those on very low incomes can get reduced rates for the doctor’s visit too.

If we need to have hospital treatment then that’s free too, though unfortunately there are sometimes quite long waiting lists for non-urgent surgery.

I’m not sure about purely optional treatments, such as cosmetic surgery not prescribed by a doctor. I think you just have to go ‘private’ for that and pay all costs yourself. I’ve never had occasion to be involved with that kind of thing.

We always have the option to go ‘private’ and pay for hospital surgery and care, if we can afford it.

Dental work is an entirely other matter and tends to be expensive. I think kids get free dental care up to a certain age.

There are plenty of things wrong with our health care system, but every time a politician starts suggesting we should look at the American system for ideas we all cringe.

I do consider myself lucky. I’d like to see a government-sponsored alternative to give uninsured people the ability to negotiate doctor and hospital charges and reduce prescription costs. That’ll at least bring their costs down to earth.

My biggest fear — which I’m sure is shared by many middle-class Americans — is having a catastrophic health issue such as a need for major surgery or a disease that needs long-term treatment. This can — and HAS — bankrupted many Americans. My high deductible is my way of reducing costs. I’m generally a healthy person and seldom go to any doctor. I don’t mind paying $3,000 out of pocket every year if that’s what it costs to have affordable health insurance to protect me from financial ruin in the event of catastrophic illness. But is that really the way it should be? I don’t think so.

I’m not normally one to advocate more taxation, but our National Insurance scheme does seem to work well (it also pays a state pension, but I expect that will be abolished by the time I need to claim it!). Mind you, it costs nearly £100bn a year to fund the National Health Service for our 60m population!

On another note though, I wouldn’t hold your breath of getting your system fixed in your, or any other, life time. Even with our system people are always describing it as broken or in need of fixing!!

Last fall I ended up in a non plan hospital with chest pain and worried I was having a heart attack. The hospital in Eureka, Ca provided excellent care and Kaiser took care of the bill without a fight and no payments that I had to recover.

We haven’t always been so lucky both with earlier experiences with Kaiser and Blue Cross. Patient experience does vary, and shouldn’t.

I do worry about how convoluted the system is with private plans, Medicare (A+B) all requiring the patient to be too knowledgeable about the system rather than being able to concentrate only on getting better.

We really need a universal one payer no arguments health care system. We also need to take the profit motive out of the health care system and treat health care like a public utility. Just my thoughts.