In 2016, I wrote:
I’m talking about money, as opposed to other types of costs.
😉
The Lupus Foundation of America estimates the average cost per year per patient is US$20,000. I don’t know if they are including just the cost to the individual or total costs in this number, but I suspect it’s the cost for the individual. When I lived in the United States, with health insurance, I spent between $15-20,000 per year on healthcare. That includes insurance premiums, deductibles, co-pays, prescription part-pays, and any medical care that I had to pay for out of pocket because the insurance wouldn’t cover it.
Since I moved to the United Kingdom, I have been on the National Health Service. For the first 6 months, I paid £7.90 for each 3-month supply of medication, and after that I stopped paying through something called a Medical Exemption Certificate. For my first 2 visas, I did not pay a surcharge for my first three years on the NHS. With my most recent visa, I paid an NHS surcharge for each year of the visa, £150 per year.
Other positives of being on the NHS I’ve noticed include more preventative care. It saves money to prevent, whereas the American system seems much less preoccupied with that, and indeed, my health insurance company often wouldn’t cover preventative actions, choosing to gamble the odds instead. As a result, I’ve had far fewer hospitalisations in the UK than I had in the US.
The down side, however, is the wait time. I’ve been waiting to see my respiratory specialist for 6 weeks. My rheumatologist can usually see me within 2 weeks of my call. I know that if the situation called for it, I would be seen more quickly– the system works that way. So I suppose it’s a good sign that she didn’t rush me in. But it is very frustrating. I see her on the 18th, though, so soon enough now! Wait times increase when funding is cut and less people are expected to do more jobs. The NHS can only be as good as its funding and administration.
I feel like this post is so relevant to COVID-19. I cannot stress enough how fundamental the existence of a social health care system is to human rights. People need to be able to get sick, and get better, without being hampered by crippling medical debt, debt which can be inherited by their children, creating a form of medical debt slavery for whole classes of society.
Clap for the NHS, they are working hard; but if you’re clapping for the NHS and then voting for a party that does nothing but cut their funding and undermine their ability to carry out care for all members of our society, then you need to examine why you’re clapping. Clapping doesn’t buy the good doctors, nurses, cleaners, orderlies, etc more personal protective equipment. Your applause doesn’t hire more nurses and doctors, or buy more beds in more wards. It doesn’t fund testing or research or treatment or medication. If you’re making lots of noise to show support, then next election, put your vote where your mouth is.
If you think I shouldn’t get political on this blog, I want to point out to you that my body has been politicised, to the tune of GB£150 versus US$20,000 per year. That’s the difference being able to live independently or not; being able to at some point purchase my own home or not; being able to support myself and a family, or not. I wasn’t given a choice about this. If you dismiss this as just politics, that means you have the privilege and the luxury to live a healthy life (for now). I have no choice, and I will always, always use the privilege I have to work for others less privileged than myself. I hope you will do the same for me and others like me.
Wondering what’s going on with these posts? Check out my explanation HERE!
This Isolation Life 