@Hostafan1 .... a friend on the foodie forum has a dog with newly diagnosed bile duct/gall bladder problems. She has just collected the first batch of medication ... She posted "I was quite amused when reading the patient information leaflet that came with the medication to see that it was actually for humans and used for treating gallstones. Thank goodness for insurance, this episode is a little shy of £1000 and still not fully resolved."
Thank goodness for the NHS
All my treatment hasn't cost me a penny . I hope those in favour of an insurance based health service read your post.
I was just reading about dog and cat insurances, as this poster has said, but they don’t always cover everything, shop around for insurance or it could be a waste of money.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
From my experience with dog insurance I hope that we never have to have a similar system for humans. I've no doubt that the system is aimed to confuse and stress people so that they pay for a higher premium. The range of cover for various problems, variation in excess charges for different things and additional % charge of the total cost on top, time limits for treatment, treatment that is only covered if you renew with the same insurer next year for an unknown cost, caveats for all kinds of minor things, you could't get a like for like cost comparison if you tried. I've taken a gamble this year and not insured the dog beyond the most minor cover. For a decent cover at his age I'd need to pay about £300 a year with £300 excess on any claim plus a percentage of the vet bills on top. I've put the same money aside to cover any bills though.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
The potential problem with introducing a fee for appointments is that it would need to be at a level where the cost of not attending had a noticeable effect. That, as others have said, might put people off who genuinely need to see a doctor but can't afford high costs. Any scheme is likely to have exemptions for those on low income, benefits etc all of which reduce the effect of introducing a charge.
A colleague of mine has just paid £2,500 for a puppy ( French bulldog I think ) and he's paying £75 a month for insurance which he's been told will increase next year. Total madness IMHO.
Local Gumtree seems to be full of those bulldog puppies for sale at the moment. Xmas I assume. I don't really understand the appeal, there's a few locally and they're all horrible dogs.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
sorry @punkdoc, we seem to have veered off at a tangent. I'm off for my endoscopy on Friday morning , hubby having a dye injection / xray later that morning.
My Mums eye operation appointment has come through. It has taken five appointments and 15 months to get to this stage. It is for New Years Eve at 7.30 am. Well she should be able to see next year, and hopefully won't trip over another kerb that she can't see.
Posts
I hope those in favour of an insurance based health service read your post.
Total madness IMHO.
I'm off for my endoscopy on Friday morning , hubby having a dye injection / xray later that morning.