Experiencing The British Healthcare System First Hand

Long ago I had offices in New York and London as well as here in my company's L.A. headquarters. I was in London frequently, but I only got sick enough to see a doctor once. One of my colleagues recommended a doctor and I went to his office. He attended to my health concerns and I left. It was fast and simple and it didn't cost me anything. I don't know how the U.K. health care system works exactly, though Ken jumped into it yesterday and tried exposing some of the lies about it floating around about it. I came across those lies when I went to Adam Schiff's health care town hall in Alhambra a little over a week ago. After reading Rep Robert Wexler's book, Fire-Breathing Liberal, I had the impression Republicans brag about not having passports and how having never traveled abroad is a badge of honor. So wasn't I surprised when I noticed that half the teabaggers who had come to the meeting were claiming to have "lived" in Canada and the U.K. and how they personally experienced the disaster of socialized medicine.

Rachel Klein is an old friend of mine, a professor at UCSD, and I asked her to recount an experience she had had when she was traveling in England a few years ago. Here's what she sent me:

The debate over health care reform and the widespread vilification of the British National Health got me thinking about my own experience with the British system. Three years ago, towards the end of the very first day of a long-planned family trip to London, a moped hit me while I was walking along a cobblestone street on the west side of Regent's Park. 

A taxi took me (along with my husband and son) to the nearest hospital where we learned that I had a badly broken femur. The next day several doctors spoke with me about the up-coming surgery and, at some point, the young anesthesiologist sat by my bed and commiserated as I shared my mostly irrational pre-op worries. The nursing staff could not have been more considerate. In fact, we had several late-night chats about politics. In all, my hospital stay lasted five days and four nights, and I returned several days later for a post-op check-up. 

Because I am not a British citizen, I received a bill: The price tag was slightly under $5,000 for everything, including the surgery and medication. Coincidentally, I even had a single room. When I returned to the U.S., with three new metal rods in my leg, several orthopedists complimented the work of the British surgeon. Within six months I was back at yoga.
 
Admittedly, the food in the London hospital was unspeakably awful-- worse, perhaps, than American hospital fare. But in the ways that really counted Britain's National Health treated me exceptionally well. I don't know for sure what an American hospital would have charged for equivalent care, but an orthopedist friend speculates that the cost would have been around $20,000.

Today is the fourth day of our Blue America campaign showing appreciation to the 65 members of Congress who have stood firm on real health care reform rather than the massive rip-off the Insurance Business lobbyists have persuaded the Blue Dogs, the Republicans and corrupt Democrats in the Senate like Blanche Lincoln, Max Baucus, Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu to try to pass instead. More than 5,400 donors have contributed almost $325,000 and donations are still rolling in as strongly as ever. Every congressmember on the list has already gotten over $2,000 and some of the ones who have spoken out the strongest, like Barney Frank (D-MA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Donna Edwards (D-MD), Eric Massa (D-NY), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), are winding up with the largest number of donations. Their position may be under attack from Republicans, Blue Dogs, lobbyists, Insurance Industry CEOs, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and the gun-toting teabaggers, as well as shills like Rahm Emanuel and Max Baucus, but the people in this country, overwhelmingly support a choice between a government-run health care insurance option and private coverage.

An interesting contrast: the special interests and their lobbyists are pouring money into the coffers into the most corrupt members of Congress-- and in the House that means Republicans and Blue Dogs, who sell their asses daily as a matter of course. Blue Dogs, especially have been raking in the dough.

Health and accident insurers, HMOs and health services increased their contributions to Blue Dogs by at least 15 percent between the first and second quarter of this year (from $106,200 to $122,650), but by 3 percent to non-Blue Dog House Democrats. Blue Dogs' stance on health care reform is more in line with that of health insurers and pharmaceutical companies -- they oppose a public health plan unless "insurance market reforms and increased competition don't lower costs on their own," according to Politico.

In the first six months of the year, Blue Dogs have also brought in more, on average, from health insurers than both Republicans and non-Blue Dog Democrats in the House.

Blue Dog Democrats have collected $4,401, on average, through their leadership PACs and candidate committees this year. That compares to $3,085 to non-Blue Dog House Democrats and $3,820 to House Republicans.

The netroots effort we're doing at Blue America for the last 4 days has netted our 65 stalwart progressives an average of over $5,000-- even more than the bribes the Blue Dogs have taken from the Insurance Industry and Medical-Industrial Complex. And they don't have to worry about ever winding up sharing jail cells with Duke Cunningham, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff or Bob Ney.