My insulin Log

I’m Welsh and I’m pretty suprised by the ferocity of the debate in the US over Universal Healthcare.

There’s been a lot of criticism from the US of other countries’ healthcare systems, and I think some of it’s really unfair, however, some of it is well founded.

Here’s the lowdown on Welsh universal healthcare:

Positives:

1. Everybody gets equal healthcare. If you’re ill you’re guaranteed to be treated.

2. In Wales, prescriptions are free. My Brother’s been diabetic since he was 9, and his insulin costs would be through the roof if we didn’t have free prescriptions.

3. There’s a freedom of choice. Private healthcare is available for quicker opperations if you don’t want to wait.

4. There are services available like quit-smoking services and exercise classes.

5. The care is of an excellent standard.

Negatives:

1. The wait for surgery is longer. It’s not something we complain about usually because we’ve had it this way since the 50s. My grandmother waited 3 weeks for shoulder surgery.

2. Not everything is covered by the state. Some expensive cancer drugs for example are not available, and you’ll need to go private.

3. Dentistry is basically completely private by now. The demand for free dentistry was so great that dentists have almost all turned private. I’m a student, so I still get free dentistry with mine, but as soon as I leave university I’ll be paying the equivilent of $42 a month.

4. It’s hardly a profit-making service. The losses the sevice makes are getting bigger and bigger. When Obama says this won’t loose too much money, the guy’s lying and he knows it. If in Wales, with a population of 3m we make a loss, the US is most certainly going to make a loss.

But given the choice between the current US system, and our system I’d pick ours any day of the week. It’s not perfect b any stretch of the imagination. But when I think that in the US, if you don’t have insurance you’re left to get sick, it shocks me quite a bit. Here in Wales, rich or poor, you get the same treatment. Want a more comfortable bed? Pay to go private!

In the end I don’t see Obama winning this debate. It’s just too unpopular.

I just wanted to let you know how it works over here.

And I’ve never met a Welshman that would have it any other way!