Why don't we have free healthcare?

Hank_Jones · 15-10-2011 03:37AM #1

Healthcare is something that I often think about, generally about how overpriced it is in this country and how,
as I have become older, now consider trips to the doctor to generally be a waste of money.

I look at the UK and how they introduced free healthcare after the second World War, when they had almost nothing,
and it leaves me wondering why Ireland, with all the resources we had during the celtic tiger era, didn't manage to fix the health care in this country.

I think that healthcare should be a right, not something that is properly available to only a select few.

Someday, hopefully, our healthcare system will be able to compare to that of the British healthcare system in 1944...

maygitchell · 15-10-2011 03:38AM

Becoz stuff costs mooolah lol

El Weirdo · 15-10-2011 03:39AM

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Why don't we have free healthcare?

That's the why.

LighterGuy · 15-10-2011 03:45AM

Sure doesnt Canada still have free healthcare?
Ah op, just guess its been the greedy Irish government over the decades.

amacachi · 15-10-2011 03:46AM

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Healthcare is something that I often think about, generally about how overpriced it is in this country and how going I now,
as I have become older, consider trips to the doctor to generally be a waste of money.

I look at the UK and how they introduced free healthcare after the second World War, when they had almost nothing,
and it leaves me wondering why Ireland, with all the resources we had during the celtic tiger era, didn't manage to fix the health care in this country.

I think that healthcare should be a right, not something that is properly available to only a select few.

Someday, hopefully, our healthcare system will be able to compare to that of the British healthcare system in 1944...

Effort? Fairly sure the HSE costs about as much per person as the NHS, fairly different output though.

Saila · 15-10-2011 03:55AM

cause they kept voting in shower of cunts after shower of cunts

policarp · 15-10-2011 03:57AM

Because all the health care money was diverted into Charles J Haughey's special fund and that was only the start of it. . .

The Snipe · 15-10-2011 04:02AM

Because our country is ****

LeixlipRed · 15-10-2011 10:50AM

Because it's better if people die than we don't pay bank the German and French banks. Because you know, there's no alternative.

krudler · 15-10-2011 11:26AM

GP visits are definitely overpriced, 50-60 a pop to get a sick note or just get told to take a few days off and drink loads of fluids, I never go to the doc unless its something I have to do these days, I basically spent my savings on doctors visits when I was ill for a few months. and I guarantee gp's dont declare a lot of their income, its 50 quid into their hand for each patient for a lot of them, which how I pay my gp.

mickydoomsux · 15-10-2011 11:28AM

Because there's no such thing.

Someone has to pay for "free" healthcare.

Penfailed · 15-10-2011 11:30AM

mickydoomsux wrote: »

Because there's no such thing.

Someone has to pay for "free" healthcare.

Exactly.

Kevin Duffy · 15-10-2011 11:32AM

Because it's too lucrative for GPs and consultants to give up their private healthcare income.

jimmycrackcorm · 15-10-2011 11:34AM

Hank_Jones wrote: »

I look at the UK and how they introduced free healthcare after the second World War, when they had almost nothing,

Someday, hopefully, our healthcare system will be able to compare to that of the British healthcare system in 1944...

The UK got a $5 billion loan from the US after the war. It was only finally repaid a few years ago.

4leto · 15-10-2011 11:34AM

Because free healthcare is not free, it is massively expensive, its labour intensive with a lot of expensive professions. In Ireland our health system employs a 120,000 all earning a wage from the public purse, then you have modern treatments. The high tech cutting edge R and D,ed drugs and procedures costing us the tax payers money, to the tune of 18 billion a year.

Now as we are living longer this is absolutely unsustainable. Although our parents have had a free medical cards rest assure we wont. I know a girl who last year was treated for cancer, they have private insurance so they could see the private costs alone on their statement. For the private alone care it was 260,000, as to how much was encrued by the public health system for her treatment, that can only be guessed, but its safe to say it was probably another 260,000.

She recovered, but only because of our heath system, it really is quite good when you have a serious life threatening complaint.

westendgirlie · 15-10-2011 11:38AM

National Insurance contributions (prsi) are higher in the UK and this goes towards the NHS. I'd happilly pay more PRSI for free healthcare.

tempura · 15-10-2011 11:38AM

Had a discussion with my doctor recently while handing over my 50 quid for birth control prescripition. :eek:

Asked him why i had to pay so much to just get a prescripition.

Apparently he only gets about 5 euro per medical card patient therefore he has to make his money somewhere hence the huge charges to non medical card holders.

Don't know how much truth is in that though.

Also just to add, this is not a slur against med card holders.

Boulevardier · 15-10-2011 11:42AM

I think that our failure to develop a national health service has been appalling.

What in the name of God was the point in winning our independence from Britain if the effect was to not provide the health service we would have had if we had stayed in the UK?

Independence has had practically no benefit unless you count as benefits the lack of a health service, an unprotected scenic heritage and an ultra-conservative supreme court which preserves the rights of property at all costs.

The men of 1916 won our right to become a gombeen's paradise. The lack of free healthcare bears this out unanswerably. They must be turning in their graves.

LaFlammeRouge · 15-10-2011 11:47AM

Boulevardier wrote: »

The men of 1916 won our right to become a gombeen's paradise. The lack of free healthcare bears this out unanswerably. They must be turning in their graves.

Who pays for free healthcare :pac:. There should be money incentive in healthcare. It is the only way new medicines and new treatments get developed.

suitseir · 15-10-2011 11:51AM

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Healthcare is something that I often think about, generally about how overpriced it is in this country and how,
as I have become older, now consider trips to the doctor to generally be a waste of money.

I look at the UK and how they introduced free healthcare after the second World War, when they had almost nothing,
and it leaves me wondering why Ireland, with all the resources we had during the celtic tiger era, didn't manage to fix the health care in this country.

I think that healthcare should be a right, not something that is properly available to only a select few.

Someday, hopefully, our healthcare system will be able to compare to that of the British healthcare system in 1944...

They have it in the UK because it is a country with a population of over 60m. Compare that with ROI with a population of 4.6m. We just could not financially sustain it!!!

Ronin247 · 15-10-2011 11:51AM

We dont have free healthcare because we live in a country with a corrupt government system.Most the top bankers,politicians,businessmen/women, doctors and lawyers went to the same group of private schools and colleges,they live in the same areas of the city and they socialise in the same restaraunts, clubs and bars.
Why would we expect them to pass laws and develop the country to suit us the silent majority when we keep voting in the same bunch of corrupt muppets and accept the same shoddy services?
The system will never change while we allow it to remain as is.Why do our government give our gas and oil away to multinationals for a fat brown envelope when that money would pay for our healthcare.Why do they vote to bail out foreign banks AND IRISH BUSINESS PEOPLE who gambled on the property boom.

http://www.shelltosea.com/content/just-how-bad-irelands-oil-gas-deal

I will tell you why.........because we allow them!!

Saturday morning rant over.

Suryavarman · 15-10-2011 11:54AM

We don't have free healthcare because nothing is free.

westendgirlie wrote: »

National Insurance contributions (prsi) are higher in the UK and this goes towards the NHS. I'd happilly pay more PRSI for free healthcare.

Free things cost more? that seems like a bit of a contradiction to me.

suitseir wrote: »

They have it in the UK because it is a country with a population of over 60m. Compare that with ROI with a population of 4.6m. We just could not financially sustain it!!!

What does population have to do with anything?

LaFlammeRouge · 15-10-2011 11:54AM

Ronin247 wrote: »

http://www.shelltosea.com/content/just-how-bad-irelands-oil-gas-deal

Yawn.

Imagine the shell to sea freaks running our healthcare system. LOL

Kevin Duffy · 15-10-2011 11:56AM

If I ever get sick, I'm gonna be the first person ever to defect by getting onto a plane at Shannon to go here .

Kevin Duffy · 15-10-2011 11:57AM

LaFlammeRouge wrote: »

Yawn.

Imagine the shell to sea freaks running our healthcare system. LOL

Yawn.

Imagine being such a sheep as to dismiss anyone who protests as a "freak". LOL.

LaFlammeRouge · 15-10-2011 11:59AM

Kevin Duffy wrote: »

Yawn.

Imagine being such a sheep as to dismiss anyone who protests as a "freak". LOL.

Baaaaa

stoneill · 15-10-2011 11:59AM

The health care we pay for is totally shíte - can you imagine what a free system would be like?
Field hospitals, swigging whiskey to dull the pain while a blood splattered junior doctor hacked away at your limbs using a rusty saw. Or something.

WalterMitty · 15-10-2011 12:00PM

Economics 101: Nothing a government provides is free, it is paid for by everyone paying tax .
We actually spend more per capita here on healthcare than the countries with best healthsystems in world, total HSE spend plus all private payments to GPs and consultants and VHI subscriptions etc. Its just the resources are so badly managed and average health worker wage so high compared to best public health systems.

Ronin247 · 15-10-2011 12:02PM

LaFlammeRouge wrote: »

Yawn.

Imagine the shell to sea freaks running our healthcare system. LOL

As opposed to who is running it now??

I dont agree with a lot of the shell to sea but used a fact from the website to emphasise my point.LOL

Hank_Jones · 15-10-2011 12:11PM

Should have said "free"....I'm well aware that the British healthcare system is paid for through the tax system.

We may be mucher smaller as a region than the UK, but surely it would be possible to have a "free" healthcare system on a much smaller scale.

I would feel that with all the money squandered, somebody would have pushed for a free healthcare system.

A "free" healthcare system would possibly reduce the amount of brown envelopes politicians receive....

WalterMitty · 15-10-2011 12:15PM

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Should have said "free"....I'm well aware that the British healthcare system is paid for through the tax system.

We may be mucher smaller as a region than the UK, but surely it would be possible to have a "free" healthcare system on a much smaller scale.

I would feel that with all the money squandered, somebody would have pushed for a free healthcare system.

A "free" healthcare system would possibly reduce the amount of brown envelopes politicians receive....

Of course we could have a free at source healthcare system but GPs , consultants,high level admin officers and managers etc would have to be reduced in pay susbstantially to around the EU average for their post but they dont want that.
In scandinavia which is held up as a model to follow by lefty types the average wage in health sector is a lot lower than here despite a similar cost of living and those scandinavian countries actually being rich ,unlike us who are only an average,highly indebted country now.

Why don't we have free healthcare?

Comments