The Socialist Nightmare

[FlashLackey]

That isn't how the NHS works. There is no priority list. Medicaid seems like a rather watered down version of what a proper health service should be.

There is a priority list. NICE determines what is covered and what is not. The same way bureaucrats decide what is and is not covered by Medicaid here.

The work that NICE is involved in attracts the attention of many groups, including doctors, the pharmaceutical industry, and patients. NICE is often associated with controversy, because the need to make decisions at a national level can conflict with what is (or is believed to be) in the best interests of an individual patient. From an individual's perspective it can sometimes seem that NICE is denying access to a potentially life-saving treatment but the denial is only effective as far as the use of public resources are concerned. Treatment will then only be available if the patient can find the resources to pay for treatment in the private sector and a doctor willing to administer it.

NICE has been criticised for being too slow to reach decisions, especially when compared to the equivalent body for Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium. On one occasion, the Royal National Institute of Blind People accused NICE of incompetence over its delayed decision to approve a drug already approved for use in Scotland[14].

Some of the more controversial NICE decisions have concerned Donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine (review) and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Bevacizumab, sorafenib, sunitinib and temsirolimus for renal cell carcinoma. All these are drugs with a high cost per treatment and NICE has either rejected or restricted their use in the NHS on the grounds that they are not cost-effective.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NICE

No thank you.

The idea that the Government will "take over" the healthcare system keeps confusing me. You do know you can still keep your private hospitals, your "choice" of doctors (having now discovered that sometimes you have to be treated at a hospital that your insurance company decides, in Britain, you choose whichever private hospital you want to go to and then the insurance company pay them). You can have all that, your TVs, your private rooms, your "first class" treatment, but you can also have care provided for everybody else.

Your choice is to either pay for health care once to go to a public institution or to pay for it twice to go to a private one. Not a good set of options, imo.

Voucher is paid... how?

As I wrote, with the funds that are already used to give companies tax breaks on healthcare expenses.

The reduction in business meant reduction in hours. Do the math.

Health insurance is part of an employees compensation. If their compensation needed to be reduced, there is no reason why it has to be their health plan instead of the rest of their salary.

I'm not punishing them. Their reckless behavior punishes me.

That could be said about a lot of things by that reasoning. What about dangerous sports? Football?

That's one place. Perhaps you people should use less drugs in Oregon.

They don't have priority lists for Medicaid in other states?