Re: I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...

David V. Loewe, Jr wrote:
On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:08:27 GMT, Jette <bosslady@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

David Friedman wrote:
mike weber <fairportfan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:25:32 -0700, David Friedman
<ddfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jette <bosslady@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

eah, in the UK up till fairly recently dentists would only consider braces for teeth for actual _problems_ such as badly misaligned teeth, whereas in the US fixing purely cosmetic problems seemed to be more accepted. Probably because in the UK our generation mostly got our dentistry on the NHS who weren't too concerned with our vanity, whereas in the US they have always had private dentists. When you're paying for it you might as well go the whole hog and have teeth that look as good as they work.

I don't follow the final part of that. If you have the choice between straightening your teeth for cosmetic purposes or not doing so, I would think the fact that you would have to pay for the straightening would make you less likely to do so, not more.

If you're already paying, say, $500 for something, an additional $150
(made-up numbers having no known relevance to orthodonty) doesn't seem
as bad as, say, $300 to start for scratch on the extra.
$150 isn't as bad as $300. But Jette wrote "when you're paying for it," which seemed to imply that the alternative was not paying for it. In your hypothetical, the alternative is paying even more for it.

Well, you guys seem to pay through the nose for it. In fact you seem to pay through the nose for all your health related items. Even for children - and braces are usually issued to children, who wouldn't be charged for _remedial_ work in the UK. (cosmetic work, yes)

Doctors work for free in the UK? I think not. There Ain't No Such
Thing As A Free Lunch.


Of course not - they work for the NHS. Most of them. Even the doctors you'd see if you went private usually work for the NHS first, then see private patients "in their spare time" - and if you need an operation, you'll probably be operated on in a NHS hospital, but pay for it. When you need drugs on a private prescription, you'll go to the same pharmacy as you'd get your NHS prescription from, but pay more for it.

Nobody would trust a doctor that the NHS wouldn't employ. (and they all get their training in NHS hospitals)

As for the comment that we "seem to pay through the nose for all your
health related items," I can only state that I've gotten more than a
$100,000 billable worth of medical care over the past year (likely
more than $175,000) and it has cost me directly (out of pocket) less
than $200. Now, starting in May, I pay $201 most months for cancer
related treatments (Medicaid), but the diabetes and HBP stuff (and, to
be fair, everything but the cancer care - Veteran's Administration) is
still free out of pocket to me.

All diabetic drugs are completely free to patients in the UK - and if you have diabetes that is treated by drugs (either insulin for T1, or the various drugs used to improve insulin production and use for T2 diabetics) then all other drugs are free too.

Same goes for some other lifelong chronic life-threatening conditions.

Arthritis isn't treated the same (chronic but not life threatening) - but my various prescriptions cost me about the equivalent of $30 every two to three months.


--
Jette Goldie
jette@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ive seen things you people wouldnt believe...
    ... braces for teeth for actual _problems_ such as badly misaligned teeth, ... you guys seem to pay through the nose for it. ... doctors you'd see if you went private usually work for the NHS first, ... When you need drugs on a private prescription, ...
    (rec.arts.sf.fandom)
  • Re: local nhs dentists
    ... to look after your teeth, pay for it, if you dont, dont pay for it. ... Seriously though, speak to some dentists, ask them why they have left the NHS, yes of course, hard cash comes into it, but it is more then that, the NHS pays not to badly. ... I have spoken to dentists about this, from senior consultants to private practice. ...
    (uk.local.cumbria)
  • Re: Ive seen things you people wouldnt believe...
    ... braces for teeth for actual _problems_ such as badly misaligned teeth, ... If you're already paying, say, $500 for something, an additional $150 ... you guys seem to pay through the nose for it. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.fandom)
  • Re: local nhs dentists
    ... I was trying to find an NHS plumber, ... to look after your teeth, pay for it, if you dont, dont pay for it. ... example would be fillings, metalic based fillings ...
    (uk.local.cumbria)
  • Re: Removed from doctors list
    ... So my enormous NI contributions over the years don't constitute paying ... pays for social security benefits not the NHS, the NHS is paid for  from ...  If I had a pound for everyone who says "I pay myNationalInsurance, I pay your wages" I would be extremely rich indeed! ...
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