Would Poles prefer US or UK medical care?

Given the high degree of commercialism afflicting American medical care, almost as like a disease which medicine itself is trying to eradicate, I'm only curious

whether Poles are satisfied with the state of medicine practiced in their country, or whether they are looking beyond their own borders, such as in England or the US.

Nobody who has experience of a better system (i.e. those in most developed countries) would want that.

The idea of people having to borrow money or sell their home for medical treatment doesn't appeal. Individual patients paying full price for medication (set by private companies!) also seems an odd thing to do in a society which can afford better and can use economies of scale.

America has by far the best medical care in the world overall as long as you can afford it or work for a good company.

That's why rich people from other countries go to us to be treated while poor Americans go abroad. If you make a $500k $1 mil cash donation to a hospital you can even skip the donor list and get a kidney, lung, etc pronto.

Care in Poland is quite good, but it can vary drastically from hospital to hospital doctor to doctor. Also it has the same issues as many other countries with a public health Care system like uk and canada - long wait times. That's one of the major reasons why so many private medical practices popped up.

From experience I agree, when you are paying there is no judgemental tut tut its your lifestyle bullshit, I am a valued customer and it has to be yes sir Dolno.

In Poland and the UK you have to creep around these judgemental people, Doctors who think they are god and you are the pleb.

They should understand like in America they are only the paid help, no different to employing a chef for your Christmas party.

You seriously want that in your healthcare? While I think doctors too often ignore what patients tell them I also think there is nothing worse than a medic who treats the patient as client.

As to healthcare each system has it's good and bad sides. But I would rather live in a country with universal health care

Where do you get your healthcare, my experience in the UK and Poland healthcare system is that you are treated as a little child, or cattle on a conveyor belt.

Well until you pay that is, I get to see the same doctors and consultants but I get a cup of tea in my hand , have a handshake when we meet and I am treated respectfully by all the staff.

I pay into the healthcare systems but I avoid them like the plague, better to pay cash private if you have it.

It's still excellent after 70 years.

The thought of having anything even vaguely similar to America's crappy 'system' where thousands go bankrupt every year in order to pay medical 'bills' and where sick people have to decide if they can afford the so-called copay for a visit to the doctor or practice nurse doesn't appeal.

Well that is the downside, if you have no provision to pay you are in real trouble.

I have experience with both, Polish and British, healthcare systems. Generally I agree that one can be treated abominable by some in the public sector but from your post I rather gathered the impression of someone who doesn't like to be told what to do (even if it's legitimate advice e.g. lifestyle) and would rather pay for ppl to suck up to him ( sorry, I don't want to offend, it's just an impression)

And that coffee and handshake is not for me. I didn't come here for chit-chat. Tell me what's wrong with me and I will be on my way :)

No I don't mind being told what to to or to be given advice, I learned a long time ago that to listen was the best asset i had, that has held me in good stead throughout my life.

The fact is that due to financial pressure in the healthcare systems you are judged / triage d based on your lifestyle, so if you are overweight smoke and drink you have little chance of being anywhere near the top of what is usually a waiting list.

If you pay, you are not judged and get sorted rapido.

Rapido works for me every time.

To be fair I never experienced that...Besides things like bribery, health care personel etc. it was always first come first serve (is that right). The worst that happened was a frown and a lecture

I don't profess to know too much about how it works,but The French system seems to work very well.

Yeah kind of, but it can take a years wait to be served an operation , if you pay you get straight away

Besides the doctor pushing his private patients in front of normal ones in the cue I don't see a lot of that as things as heavy as operations are usualy done in the public hospital. Sometimes hospitals rent few beds to the private sector (or some private clinic buys out a wing etc) but is it enough to cut the cues? Maybe. Thankfully I never needed it and coped fine with the public sector.

If you get a chance visit the car park at your local nuffield (private) hospital , the same consultants that work the nhs also work there but check out the Aston Martins.

I know one the drives his Aston to the private hospital but uses the wife's Golf at the NHS, Its all wrong I know:)

I had a contact with both: Polish Sluzba Zdrowia and British NHS state run medical care and they are both equally bad.

And private medical care systems in both countries are good. Coincidence? Not likely. Private services are in 99% of cases better than those enforced state-run services.

It may be expensive, but once we stop paying mandatory insurance and subsidizing state run services with taxes, we will be able to spend that extra money on private medicare. And the increased competition will drive prices down.

Wow! What a variety of responses:-)

Thanks, guys!

@Jaskier

Their job isn't to be a mommy. It's to make a person healthy and provide a service to the best of their ability. They can offer recommendations, but their opinions shouldn't determine quality of care.


Social Darwinism. No sense in wasting valuable time and resources on people who arent benefitting society. People on the dole have a separate health system. Top doctors won't accept them and hospitals will only treat them in an emergency then refer them to some clinic in the ghetto.

Also most co-pays for an office visit are 20 30 bucks or less on most plans. For surgeries usually it's a yearly cap that's a few grand regardless of what a person spends. So like once they spend 3l 5k 10k whatever it is everything else is covered. So if say I needed a million dollar surgery I'd pay at most a few grand and not upfront. The hospital would send a few invoices after the surgery then give up on collecting and write it off.

Far better than waiting 6 months year or more to be seen for a surgery like in UK

Bottom line is the USA medical system is the best by a long shot, if you have the money yourself or work for a good company. If you have cancer or serious diseases there is no country that has the medical technology, the amount of top facilities, top hospitals, top medical schools or the research funds public and private that any other country does.

Gee, Dirk!

You sound just like a Nazi, determining who is fit and who isn't. Have you also forgotten, "Man proposes, G-D disposes"??

I waited 2 weeks.

The NHS does its job very well. It would be strange to have to think about paying money to have medical treatment and wondering what your insurance does or doesn't cover....

That depends on what operation is required and whether it's urgent or non-urgent, but yeah, I paid for private surgery many moons ago as the waiting lists at the time were very long.

Having said that I would still take the NHS over US healthcare. If an urgent problem is diagnosed, you would be treated pretty quickly on the NHS, same if an urgent operation is required.

I'm not exactly sure how the US healthcare system works, but I'm guessing if a health problem is ongoing, premiums would be very high.

There is something very wrong with a system that gives preferential treatment to those that can afford it.


Best hope that you're never in that situation then, because no-one can say what life is going to throw at them.


I meant that comment in the sense that I believe that this is standard in the US? There is no NHS equivalent, so If you can't pay, you're basically screwed?

Exactly, Chemikiem!

Man's role is to do G-d's bidding here on Earth, not pretend he IS G-d:-)
The doctor's role is to save life, first and foremost, not look first at the insurance
plan.

I would too.
The NHS has many problems and could give much better value for money but,overall,it is still better than The US system.
My wife has recently had some serious medical problems and The NHS have been unbelievably superb.
But their admin is still awful.

Smart choice!

It's called capitalism. If you don't like it go to North Korea or Venezuela. I hear the care is wonderful there even better than UK and USA.


Like the fact that you have to wait months or even years to see a specialist or get a surgery and may die in the meantime. That's not a problem here in the USA. Many Englishmen Canadians etc with serious conditions complain how their condition gets even worse while they wait. If it's a flu or appendicitis or whatever you're fine. If it's a rare kidney disease or something, good luck.

Again, best medical system IF you can afford it or work for a good company. Hell my insurance will pay for preventative medicine, root canals, glasses contacts or Lasik, acupuncture, massages, organ transplants, triple bypass surgery, cancer screening and genetic testing all sorts of ****. Now does your precious NHS cover all of that and either for free or with a small token fee? I go to the doc or dentist every 2 3 weeks, get new Cartier frames every year and in total it costs me less than a cell phone bill.


Only undesirable welfare leeches have that problem. That's why the Dems keep pushing for a one payer system so they can have the same access to healthcare that the taxpaying class has.

Nothing wrong with capitalism per se, Dirk, it simply needs to be reined in a bit:-) When functioning at its peak, you have the New Deal.

When functioning on steroids, you have Reagan or Trump.

New deal economics only work when there's high labor participation rates. Basically a far higher proportion of white people than lazy mud. Otherwise you get a situation like we're in today where there's 2.9, soon to be just 2 workers per beneficiary. During fdrs time there were 40 workers to 1 beneficiary. It's not gonna work again till you eliminate all the deadbeats lyzko you can forget about it it's simple mathematics. You can thank for fellow tribesman Jacob 'open the floodgates' javitz and his open immigration act for screwing new deal economics up and Obama for encouraging more people than ever to go on disability.

As accurate as those stats may well be, I have a problem with errant assignments of labels or stigmas to plain folks, such as "losers", "deadbeats" etc., without knowing their story!

Unless you've been anesthetized, if you ever need real help and it's not there, you'll know it....and you'll feel it, believe me.

At least allow us to refuse the help offered.

I don't give a rats ass about their 'story.' Everyone has a sob story from the 'nam vet' jingling a can in front of the store to the broker with a brioni suit driving a Bentley. The difference is how you deal with it.


If I need help, I'll help myself. And if I become a quadraplegic I'll paint with my nose and sell it on eBay as modern art. Then I can turn my sob story into $$$. Plus then I'd get some of the tax money I've been paying in.

...by claiming that you are a black lesbian woman and that you were attacked by six white MAGA skinheads with swastikas on their foreheads. You will be on CNN next day and there will be a movie made about you.