USA National Health Service

[FNH]

I heard a BBC report today that was suggesting that "America" has a grass roots pressure building towards a National Health Service.

I find this odd, I havn't seen or heard anything like that in any of the media I listen to that comes out of the states.

I think the ball-park figure over here in the UK is something like 20% of our income is tax to pay for the NHS.  Does that figure sound like a lot to Americans, how does that compare to current insurance schemes?

[Rachel Swirsky]

Someone ran the figures a while back -- Americans pay more for (taxes + all the stuff that European governments provide) than Europeans pay for (taxes).

Basically, the people who stand to financially lose in the equation are the richest 1% or so of Americans. Unless you're in that percentage, then financially, national health insurance is a good deal for you.

[Jim]

Michael Moore's latest project, Sicko, is going to blow the lid off the US health care "industry."

Go read about it at Salon.com. Gonna be big, gonna be big.

[slic]

You mean the way Bowling for Columbine had that huge effect on gun control? 

[sirana]

Or the way "Roger and Me" had that enourmous impact on the outsourcing practises of US companies?

[wherethewild]

Someone ran the figures a while back -- Americans pay more for (taxes + all the stuff that European governments provide) than Europeans pay for (taxes).

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Different countries count different things as taxes. In Germany for example health insurance (which is mandatory and will be provided by the government if you can´t provide your own) is not included in taxes. Unemployment insurance is also not counted in the taxes. In Australia those are taken from within the "taxes" definition.

Of course your figures may already take that into account in which case....sounds expensive.

[Michael]

It is a complex issue, but America has too many people with no health insurance at all now--they live without it until they get very sick and present at Emergency Rooms for very expensive care, which they cannot afford and thus don't pay for, and those cost then get shifted onto the backs of those who do have insurance.  It is not a sensible system--anyone who has ever looked at it, left or right, agrees it needs fixing.

The problem is the most sensible fix would cost some very rich companies their livelyhood, and they are effective politcal opposition. 

[Rachel Swirsky]

Different countries count different things as taxes.

You're right. Without digging up the link (my GoogleFu is weak!), I think the comparison was between Americans and the highest rate of taxation in Europe.