Shonster- IF you have health insurance, like me, we can go to the gyno anytime we want.

I see my gyno for a PAP smear each year. I also have a GP type doctor, he takes care of other health needs.

I never need a referral, and can see anyone I wish to.

That is only if you have health insurance though...

We do have excellent EARLY diagnosis rates for cervical cancer

All workers in the UK pay National Insurance (I pay around £300 per month) and this goes into the National Health Service.

We can also buy private health insurance but we are obliged to pay into the aforementioned NI scheme as well.

We cannot present ourselves to a consultant without a referral from the GP and generally we wait on average 9 months (sometimes much longer) for an appointment.

If we go to A&E (ER to you) we can wait 6 hours in a queue for urgent medical attention.

Our NHS is going to the dogs from lack of funding and yet if you can get through the system and meet a consultant face to face, you will find a highly trained professional second to none.

And at least no one is refused medical care, not even the poorest in the land.

Well, I agree with Cairifairy. We do have great medical care, but that's IF you have good insurance, or if you have insurance at all. I have pretty bad insurance right now, so I need to get all my birth control needs at a planned parenthood (reduced price clinic) and I'm not getting any yearly paps until I have better insurance. My insurance right now cost me about $1500 for a semester (about 5 months) but doesn't really cover much, so a trip to the doc will still cost me hundreds (or thousands) of dollars. When I've had better insurance in the past, though, it was a lot better- most things were covered almost 100%.

Our ER's are terrible, really- waiting forever just like you said and they are very very expensive. However, if a person with no money/insurance comes to an ER with a serious condition, they are not turned away. ER visits cost thousands of dollars, but some programs help out poor people to get emergency treatment.

Most people in the US can't see a specialist without a referral because otherwise insurance might not pay for it. Also, insurance often only pays for certain treatments or prescriptions. I would say, however, that once you get a referral (at least where I live) the wait is not too long, maybe a month or two, I guess depending on what you need.

But who knows what will happen, current candidates are advocating a socialized health care system. I hope it happens! I don't know if it will.

Shonster- I have "Blue cross and blue shield of NC". That is a good company that provides health insurance.

I pay 210$ a month, and I have health problems.

I can see my gyn the same day if I call, and it is urgent. Otherwise for an exam I wait about 6 days to get an appointment.

WOW, I cannot imagine waiting 9 months.. For 300 Euros a month?!! That is a LOT more than I pay.

Not 300 euros - £300! That's 588$! But it is not an insurance as such, although they call it that - it is a general pool into which every worker pays to bolster up our marvellous Welfare State that is crumbling about us. It is graduated according to salary, much like the tax system. It ensures that no one goes without medical care but it does have its drawbacks. The government are throwing money at it to cut waiting lists and free up hospital beds but it means that people are being sent home from hospital far too early and there have been some tragic highly-publicised cases where things have gone wrong.

Of course, many people do take out private insurance on top of this - BUPA is the most popular but some workplaces invite you to contribute towards their private health insurance. If you do this, you are paying twice for your medical care and some people would argue that there is no great benefit as you will see the same surgeons etc - the only benefit is that you will jump the queue.

We seem to have hijacked the OP's page - apologies! But it came out of my observation that everyone seems to have their own gyn in the US and here, you are lucky if you can get a good dentist that won't charge you a fortune for just having a look!

WHAT?!

If you want a consultation here..Many dentists in my city will do a 'first look' free!

If you need anything done they will give you an estimate..

X-rays are extra money..

I don't have my 'own' gyno, the only one I see right now is whoever is working at the nearest planned parenthood! I can't afford to see a regular gyno because my insurance doesn't cover it. My last trip to the gyno (a regular one) cost me over $200 just for a consult regarding birth control and a prescription (not even an exam, just talking) and then of course $50 each month after that to get the prescription filled, and that's just birth control, it's not as expensive as lots of other drugs.

and... if you have dental coverage, then dentists are great!! I am currently not going to the dentist because I don't have dental coverage at all, but I also have no dental problems (no cavities or anything) so it's not really a priority. And true, they will look for free, but they won't do even preventative care without charging an arm and a leg.

Our health care really is great..... if you have good insurance. I'm in the situation where I don't, so I am really just avoiding going to the doctor at all costs. I am pretty much only covered if I'm in a terrible accident or something- and even then it will cost me more than I can afford.

But I used to have great insurance, with almost everything covered. It really just depends. Right now the only insurance I have is through my university and doesn't cover much, and no dental or vision coverage.

Hmm, then perhaps the UK are not getting a bad deal after all. Here. all Family Planning advice and contraception is free. You can buy condoms at the supermarket if you want variety etc but basically, any clinic will give you them, and the Pill, the Patch, the Coil and all the other paraphenalia free.

Prescriptions are a flat rate £6.79 or something per item but you can pre-pay if you know you are going to have a few items every month, and save a lot of money that way. I pre-pay three months in advance, and this costs me £34 but as I have 8 prescrption items a month (ie 24 over 3 months) this saves me about £100. There is now a move afoot to abolish prescription charges altogether - they already have that in Wales. Of course, if you are on a low income (ie less than about £150 per week) you have free prescriptions anyway. All eye tests are free and you can opt for cheap, NHS-subsidised specs but few people do. Again, low income families get help towards the cost.

No, I like the UK NHS and the only gripe I have is the waiting time for hospital appointments. Oh, and the lack of proper cleaning on many of the wards!

We should probably have moved this on to a new page, you know!

Well, this is my thread so I'm just gonna jump in on this. The whole socialized medical coverage issue seems to be the biggest band-aid solution that seems great when you hear it but in reality - not so much.

The root of the problem is that insurance is extremely expensive, and probably the root of THAT issue is the outrageous medical malpractice lawsuits that make healthcare in general so expensive. So if we take on the insurance companies, crack down on frivelous lawsuits and accept some responsibility for ourselves we will have a healthcare industry that blows any out of the water.

Just my .02

Can't say fairer than that, soonhitched!

I agree, there's a lot at play here. Prescription drug companies certainly aren't the least of the problems.

Sorry we hijacked your thread- maybe I'll get someone to split it to general debate