Proper universal care is way too costly. I can’t honestly see the NHS surviving in its current format for many more decades -simply because of the demographic pyramid. There aren’t going to be enough people paying taxes to cover the cost of the ever growing aging population.

Cool graphics on the vid..but I have a really hard time listening to vids..sound quality was less than optimal..
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Now on a more positive note, you NEED to hit me up on Twitter wanna show you something…. nothin too sexy it’s like a first date
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Sorry to hear you aren’t feeling too great right now.

Luckily we have the NHS here in England. It’s not perfect. We have the triage nurse too. She’s not especially nice. She argues a bit on the phone before you visit the surgery but nothing like the one in your video. We have an argument on the phone. If you insist, you get through but you have to be tough about it. It’s really hard to argue with her if you have a throat infection.

As a rule here in England, it’s small children first, then toddlers, then women and children. With the baby, I can walk straight in, without a phone call ahead and they will see the baby within an hour. With my small boy, if I call ahead in the morning, the doctor will see him in the afternoon. My wife has no problems getting an appointment. As a man, it’s a little bit harder but I can usually get one in about 3 days, if I argue forcefully enough. My grandfather has loads of appointments. He thinks it’s great now. They see him all the time.

We do have a 2 tier system here in the UK. We all pay for the NHS and some people pay for private healthcare on top – usually through company schemes but sometimes independently as well. One of my relatives recently had a private eye op that went very badly, due to the surgeon being supported by nurses who didn’t speak English, so he had to get all the tools himself. The operation took too long, her eye dried out and it all went badly, so what’s the point of paying for private if they are going to cut on staff?

Sounds like Canada has made a mess of their health system but you don’t want to base your own system-to-be on that. Go for a European system.

As for petrol. The price for a gallon of petrol where I live is over £1 per litre. Some places are charging £1.11 and above. That’s about £5 a gallon. That’s about $8 a litre in your money and more if you go for the top calculation.

Yes, you get what you paid for. We’re probably better in the after service here in Canada than the upfront service. I know my folks have friends who would have something needed, MRI, hip replacement, tests, etc .. and have to wait forever to get “in” but, once they do, there is after support cleaning their house, nurses dropping in every 2nd day, free trips for followups, etc.

The city isn’t that nice with its health services though – ambulance trips are free here – unless it’s a false alarm – if they drive you to the hospital, its free – if they determine that you don’t need to go to the hospital – they charge you. All medical expenses are deductible from income tax, if you have enough over the threshold.
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Thanks for the great post and video!
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I just turned 26 and there are times I myself battle with depression. Life sucks sometimes and some of the betrayals I have faced in the last year have forced me to confront that fact.

As you say though, there always is tomorrow. I am just glad I can occasionally afford a shrink, but even with those dudes you have to watch your back that you don’t end of overly medicated with an empty wallet and f-ed up even more by someone who just doesn’t have any answers for you. I have come to think that I have to find any answers if they are to be found in myself and through my life experience.

Also, you will get no argument from me that health care in some form is necessary and no one should be deprived of it.
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