LordRsmacker,
Yes, very sad, and happening to too many people over there.
You guys need to push for something like our NHS.
Sure, it costs a fortune. But can you think of a better way to spend money ?
They will call you a 'Socialist'. Ignore it. It is just another way of spelling 'humanitarian'
For the price of a couple of refurbished nukes you could fund it for a year.
INT21.
Indeed, but one small detail is that I'm a Brit, still here in Blighty. The one thing that made me resist the extremely attractive option of marrying her and living a nice comfortable life out there was the prospect of being rinsed for my essential medication each month, with who-knows-what to come in my declining years. I chose to stay here with the dreary weather, the doom and gloom, everyone killing themselves to live, the congestion and arseholes trying to build on every scrap of land they can get their mitts on, etc etc, and it really was the NHS that swung it. There's so much wrong with it, but when you are elsewhere, facing the prospect of not being able to afford being ill, you realise it really is a wonderful thing.
If you are totally dirt-poor in the US, there is a basic health service, but for the vast majority, Mr & Mrs Ordinary, people without huge reserves of cash in the bank, it's easy to find yourself suddenly in deep shit. Yes, there's insurance, but try getting some if you have a pre-existing health condition.
Or rather, try paying for it, there will always be someone willing to provide the cover, just at an exorbitant price. Policitians can stand there, and say with sincerity, that there ARE insurance providers for everyone, and they are correct - they just omit to say that you will be at their mercy and could be handing over a large chunk of your monthly income. Many simply choose to be able to eat, and hope an anvil doesn't fall from the sky on top of them.
My g/f's heart condition and previous operations meant she was practically uninsurable at a reasonable cost, so with normal everyday expenses to meet, found herself having to wait until payday for her prescription, even if that was weeks away. What kind of way is that to be, in the richest nation on Earth?
I don't want to get all political, this is not a board for that sort of thing, IMHO, but we need to be more vigilant here in the UK, to make sure we don't find ourselves in the same position - free healthcare if you are destitute, or in hock to insurance companies (as well as the mortgages/landlords who currently squeeze us until the pips squeak). Mr Cameron did his best to set us on that path, I'm sure the direction of travel hasn't altered...