The UK’s National Health Service continues its collapse. Now, things have gotten so tight that surgeries are being rationed. From the story:
Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the NHS money. Two-thirds of health trusts in England are rationing treatments for “non-urgent” conditions as part of the drive to reduce costs in the NHS by £20bn over the next four years. One in three primary-care trusts (PCTs) has expanded the list of procedures it will restrict funding to in the past 12 months. Examples of the rationing now being used include:
* Hip and knee replacements only being allowed where patients are in severe pain. Overweight patients will be made to lose weight before being considered for an operation.
* Cataract operations being withheld from patients until their sight problems “substantially” affect their ability to work.
* Patients with varicose veins only being operated on if they are suffering “chronic continuous pain”, ulceration or bleeding.
* Tonsillectomy (removing tonsils) only to be carried out in children if they have had seven bouts of tonsillitis in the previous year.
* Grommets to improve hearing in children only being inserted in “exceptional circumstances” and after monitoring for six months.
* Funding has also been cut in some areas for IVF treatment on the NHS.
The alarming figures emerged from a survey of 111 PCTs by the health-service magazine GP, using the Freedom of Information Act.
And it is only going to get worse, considering the trajectory. Imagine the screaming here if HMOs did any of that. (I don’t believe IVF should be paid for by public money or covered by insurance. But let’s not deal with that here.)
The continuing collapse of the NHS is not only an indictment of single payer health care: It is a warning to the U.S. about centralized control of health care. The Obama Adm. is in the process of dictating to the entire private health insurance industry what they must cover in every health insurance policy. And, they are not letting companies underwrite for premiums. Obamacare is already beginning to break the budget bank. Not only that, but it is undermining coverage through employment, which would be even worse but for the ubiquitous waivers.
Adding injury to injury, how easy it is for the bureaucrats to lard on the goodies on the private insurance companies’ dimes–as is already happening. What makes us think that a too strained and bureaucratically suffocated private sector won’t eventually end up in a collapse–further harming the economy–and unable to provide for patients properly?
Once that happens (with malice aforethought?) Obamacarian class warriors will give a war whoop of triumph for having destroyed the dreaded private sector–and force us into single payer. See, “NHS Meltdown” posts. Lose. Lose. Lose.
July 28th, 2011 | 11:29 am
I think that if we have a sufficient amount of funds, there’s no danger of medical treatment being rationed. We need enough money, and the government agencies, involoved in managing the funds, have to know what they’re doing. There’s no a priori reason to believe that a “centralized agency” cannot handle this competently.
JustChris Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
@Bret Lythgoe, Bret, setting aside the problem of a sclerotic bureaucracy that has less knowledge than the millions of patients and doctors it seeks to direct by the nose, having enough money to pay for it is just about impossible. With a 1.94 child/woman fertility rate and abortion still legal, the UK would just about have to reject the rest of their societal values and jettison the rest of their welfare state to keep the one program, NHS, functioning without political crisis. The only way to keep a single-payer system going without telling people that can’t have a surgery is either the second coming and everybody gets a one-time perfection procedure or having a three-child minimum for all citizens, both equally unpalatable for the people generally pushing single-payer systems.
The world still hasn’t learned in the last 200 years that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Bret Lythgoe Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
@JustChris, Lol! I see what you’re saying. But I think that, by having enough funds, as well as stipulating that, if one is capable of paying for one’s health care, one must, it might require a lot of work, but it could be done.
I don’t mean to dismiss your points, you make some good ones, but I think we have to try. Everyone must have healthcare. That’s what a decent, civilized society requires. And everyone must have equal access to any health care procedure, treatment, that he/she needs, that’s also required of a decent civilized society. and the healthcare must be dictated by what the patient needs, not how wealthy/poor, he/she is.
Perhaps this seems quixotic. But it must be done. I don’t really care how it’s done, “centralized control” is not necessary. Whatever will work.
Thanks for your good points, for me to think about.
July 28th, 2011 | 12:20 pm
>>>And it is only going to get worse, considering the trajectory. Imagine the screaming here if HMOs did any of that. (I don’t believe IVF should be paid for by public money or covered by insurance. But let’s not deal with that here.)<<<
There you go again Wesley putting a stop to a topic that me, myself and i wanted so much to discuss here and NOW!
Actually, don't worry bout "IT" cause only 5% of my spiritual body cells who wanted to talk about sitting in a French petri dish to discuss all the problems that could take place while organizing and maintaining any health program nowadays.
I hear ya! Well seeing that "IT" is only 5% of your spiritual cells that are affected Victor, we won't make any changes because you know that majority rules. :)
Peace
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
July 28th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
I think it is a worthy discussion. But I try to run a tight ship.
July 29th, 2011 | 3:12 am
The Brits have been at this public health care experiment for many years and they still can’t get a handle on it. What hope do we have? The same government entrusted to effectively manage this process also lost $50 million to medicaid fraud last year. Now, those are bookkeepers I want managing my health care. The government faces no competition and therefore has no incentive to run things more effectively.
July 29th, 2011 | 6:38 am
I often feel quite sad when I see you criticising our healthcare system. In many ways its quite good especially if you aren’t ill. For those broken bones and simple fixes it excels. More complicated stuff requiring aftercare can be a bit more tricky accepted. I still think that we are quite proud of out healthcare system, it is only since this scumbag government came to power that things have taken a turn for the worse with slight increases in waiting times and of course the potential reduction in what’s on offer. Sometimes I think it can get pretty clogged up with people, and especially the young 18 – 25 age group spending far too much time getting drunk, falling over or hitting each other or others who just happen to be in the way. Possibly not terribly well thought ramblings but hey, stop slagging of our healthcare system….it’s a bit crap, just how we like it!!
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
July 29th, 2011 at 9:25 am
merv: No. The SHS meltdown started years ago. I don’t make these stories up, I post about what your own media report. And if you like it, it is because you have been well trained.
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