Honest, unbiased review of British healthcare system

[David S]

You want a health care system that's in terrible shape?

Try the American health care system.

My experience with the U.S. system is all good. It's far more efficient than the socialist ones tend to be. Is it always affordable - no, but the socialist ones seem to keep costing more to maintain, so the money just ends up coming from taxes.

My problem with US health care is there seems to be a terrible undersupply of it.  I only rarely get ill, and even more rarely ill enough to bother with a doctor, but on the few occasions I have, I have found that one gets well before one can get in to see the doctor in the US.  It is astonishing how far ahead most doctors are booked - weeks in advance!

Where do you encounter this problem? I can usually get a doctor appointment within a couple of days, or even the same day if I tell them its urgent. Also there is always the emergency room if the situation is truly dire.

Here in Thailand, if I have any whim to see the doctor I just go right in - maybe a 10-20 minute wait, no appointments, and even if I go to Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok (the fancy 'medical tourism' one staffed with Ivy League educated doctors) it only costs about $20.  The only appointments are for actual major procedures.

Does Thailand have socialized healthcare? How much of the low price is due to the low cost of living there?

[David S]

How about this review of British healthcare: have you seen their teeth? No, it's not a stereotype, dental care is pretty terrible+ over there. American dentists never cease to be amazed how bad Britain is in that regard.

Teeth tend to be a problem here. Most Americans have many fillings.
I have several friends from India who have perfect teeth. Most of them never had a cavity. It would be interesting to see if there has ever been a study to determine why. My guess is that its due to their diet, although it could be heredity. I don't think regular dental care is common in India.

Personally I have a mouthful of fillings. My daughters, both in their mid twenties have very few fillings. I would attribute that to regular dental care in their case.