Why don't we have ACTUAL universal healthcare like the rest of Europe?

You can be waiting 3/4 weeks for an appointment to see a GP in England, NHS isn't as great as.you think.

You pay to see a doctor in Finland also, cheaper then here but not free

Because Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil love looking after their boyos in the insurance industry.

Thankfully Pearse Doherty has become and pain in that particular arse.

the NHS is not “the rest of Europe”. Germany is part private part public like here, and you pay at point of use - if you can - like here. this applies to public patients as well, who are then reimbursed

The health charge is 15% of your wages, but you can opt out and go private which can be cheaper for the young. Stay in the private sector too long and you are stuck there and unlike here the private costs are not community rated. I know someone paying 1K a month approaching retirement.

Medical cards held by 1/3rd the population add doctor visit cards and up to half the population have effectively free visits. A ten euro flat fee for every visit to a healtcare provider would do more for waiting times than any other initiative

Plenty of people making plenty of money. People like to go on about the HSE clerical staff or w/e but let's be honest, there's people getting paid what they'd get paid in England while also working privately as well. Doctors, consultants and dentists can pretty much charge what they want and there's no oversight. And they're dead right to do it, but for some reason we have to let on like they're all benevolent heroes and selfless angels. They're looking to charge as much as they can in a marketplace with huge barriers to entry for new sellers.

A simple example for you. I needed a dental procedure done. All in it would have cost close enough to 2 grand here, assuming the final bill matched the estimate which never happens. Who would've imagined an X-ray might be (definitely) required but not included in their published price. Just over the border I've spent around 500 so far and might have to spend another 500. Funnily enough if you go a bit further from the border (which would mean a full day off work if travelling from the south) the price falls by another 20-30%. Rents in those places are the same yet for some reason the dentist who can generate more demand "needs" to charge a quarter more than a guy 20 miles away.

A quick Google says half of Irish people have health insurance. Which shows just how bad the public system is that even with half the population going private (plus people paying out of pocket) the public system is pretty much fucked. Someone will probably make a ham-fisted attempt to compare with the UK but over there it looks like 11% of people feel the need for private health insurance.

They wait for weeks for doctors appointments in leeds