“Illness is neither an indulgence for which people have to pay, nor an offence for which they should be penalised, but a misfortune the cost of which should be shared by the community.”  Aneurin Bevan the architect of the NHS

To us brits it's completely inconceivable that you have to pay to give birth in safety....
I mean, what the F!!!

I was recently in hospital which involved: three ambulance rides, three A&E (ER) admissions, two X-rays, one ultrasound, two CT scans, one MRI scan, one surgery, multiple days on IV antibiotics and fluids, multiple other meds, and fifteen nights in a ward. I’ll also have a follow up CT scan in a few weeks and a follow up appointment with my surgeon. I’m in Scotland, so there will be no bill. All I have to worry about is healing and eating the right food.

We were on the 3rd day of a holiday in New Zealand when I took ill.  I went to a medical centre where the doctor ordered a helicopter to take me to a city hospital after I was diagnosed with sepsis & Covid.  I was air lifted to the major hospital where I was placed in an induced coma in an individual intensive care ward.  I was in the coma for 12 days, the intensive care ward for 21 days & transferred to a general ward for several weeks.  I died as I came out of the coma & had to be resuscitated.  I was provided with a wheelchair & medication while I was treated as an out-patient until I was well enough to return to Australia.  The full cost of all my medical treatment was zilch.  I did not pay one cent for the incredible medical treatment I received as there is a reciprical agreement between countries with universal healthcare.

Here in the UK we don't have companies making huge profits out of your ill health, shame on you USA.

Brit here, the point made about the cost of an ambulance and air ambulance made my blood run cold. My son was air lifted to hospital after being in a gas explosion at work and the thought of having to weigh up all these financial factors before deciding whether you can afford to even ring for help... It's diabolical. The NHS is often called a lot of things and it is under immense pressure but thank goodness for it.  I think as Brits we often take the NHS for granted, actually we don't, we just have peace of mind that it's there. Kinda realised how lucky we are to have it after watching this xxx

I'm now in my 80s (British)!  NEVER in my life have I EVER had to think about the cost of medical treatment!

I'm in Australia and thank goodness for universal healthcare (Medicare), today I bought $2734 worth of medication and paid $7.70.

Forty five years ago I had a bad motorcycle accident, I spent 6 months in one hospital, had four operations,  had to have 165 stitches. After the 6 months I was transferred to a specialist hospital for a further six weeks for me to learn how to walk again. After six weeks I was released on crutches to go home. For the next year I was picked up three times a week in a hospital car and driven 15 miles to our local hospital to receive physiotherapy. The cost to me was zero, not a penny, absolutely nothing. I can’t thank our NHS & the doctors, surgeons, nurses, carers enough, in fact everybody involved in the NHS down to the cleaners because they all play an important roll in our health care system and it is very important we keep that system here in the U.K.

Our story from Australia... my daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour, 2x ambulance rides, 6x MRI scans, 2x x-rays, numerous ultrasounds, 3 weeks in the ICU ward, 2 weeks in the recovery ward, a 7hr operation by Australia's best brain surgeon and his team, 3 months of radiation therapy, 2yrs of bi-annual scans and specialist appointments, 3yrs of annual scans and appointments and lifelong scans and specialist visits every 2yrs.... and the cost...? $0.00 (I never complain about paying the 1.5% healthcare levy component in my tax statement)

That explains why they put all the chemicals in your food. There's huge money to be made making you sick.

Yes we have an app. Because the whole population is registered to the NHS from birth we all get a NHS number where we can enter it into an app and link it to our health care notes
We can see all notes, test results, scan results, book Dr appointments, request prescriptions, book blood tests and other test when they are due.
The NHS is amazing.

I prefer having a doctor decide what treatment I need, not a health insurance clerk.

I was talking to some american friends i play online D&D with about healthcare and i told them about an operation i needed to get on my stomach a few years back. I went on the waiting list for the operation and was told it was about 8 months, I got my surgery date in about 4 months, I went into the hospital on Sunday morning with my stuff and was shown to my bed on the men's ward, I unpacked my stuff and got changed into a surgical Robe. I sat on the bed and read for a few hours and they came to collect me at 10:30, I walked down to the theatre with them, was put under, had the operation, came too a few hours later (not sure exactly how long) and was wheeled back up to the ward. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days, was given 3 meals a day and as many cups of tea as I could drink. I was discharged after those 3 days and went home to recover. I had 2 weeks off work, fully paid to recover and I didnt have to pay even a penny for anything or even think about how much it all cost at all. My american friends were absolutely stunned and they started talking about everything they would need to deal with and worry about if that was them and I didnt even understand half of it or how, even if you have insurance you might still have to pay thousands of dollars, WHAT?? The NHS needs to be protected at all cost.

I had a conversation online one night with an American who was looking for advice for natural ways to bring his blood pressure down. I asked him what his blood pressure readings were and it turned out that he was having a medical emergency and needed immediate treatment to avoid a stroke. I begged him to go to the ER and he told me he couldn’t go because he didn’t have insurance and he didn’t qualify for Medicaid. He said treatment and a hospital stay would put his home at risk and his family could face losing their home. I pointed out that he could die and his family would lose him and he said that at least they would still have a home! It was heart breaking. We never have to make such a choice here.

Definition of an uncaring society. USA

Having had Cancer twice over 5-6 years,checkups every 3 months for around 4 years, then every months, now once a year. Didn't pay a penny. I love the NHS they have saved my life so many times. Let alone all the medication I am on all free.

I went into hospital in mid Feb. 2011
I was supposed to be in 3 days approx.
I had four returns to surgery, 19 units (pints) of blood and  eventually a surgeon from another hospital was brought in. Several days in intensive care, then what they call high dependency for a few more days. I left hospital about six weeks after admission. I still had a huge wound, so district nurses came to my home every day at first, eventually every few days, until Sept, when I was finally discharged. So I'm someone who would definitely have died in America.

I can't believe that the home of the free charges for being ill.

In the UK here. It worries me that it often appears that not enough people here appreciate the NHS & seem complacent about the moves to privatise it.