Helen, in all honesty, you answered fairly predictably for someone who is

Comment on General Election 2010 Poll Results by Sarah in the Desert.

Helen, in all honesty, you answered fairly predictably for someone who is embedded into the NHS system. You see what you want to see.

I stated 85 – 100% medical costs provided, means-tested for low earners / welfare recipients(the poor people you’re talking about).

You have failed to grasp that I can’t go into the finer detail firstly without knowing the finer detail – this is a general synopsis of what the system could be or probably what it is likely to be in the future.

Rather than just saying to throw more money at it through increasing people’s taxes (some of whom never engage the public health services) I’m attempting to make it better and fairer for everyone and to actually give people a choice on where they can go for treatment, opening up the health market would encourage new providers for all to use.

The NHS saved your life, well that’s great for you, some people are unfortunately at the mercy of their local NHS Trust who may not be performing as well as others. Some surgery is just not offered until things are really bad, such as vascular surgery, you have to be really suffering, ulcerous and at the risk of gangrene before the NHS would even consider surgery which then potentially costs more than if it had been done earlier.

I never said or implied scaled back services in Government Hospitals only scaled back free for all service for future generations so providing affordable private services your freeing up government services. I would still expect a good level of service and facilities but without the stress of over-subscription.

Joe Bloggs probably doesn’t go to the doctors because he knows that he probably won’t get an appointment for at least 5 days, will sit in a waiting room with a load of ill people coughing and spluttering all over the place, feeling hacked off with the doctor who rushed him because he only had 7 minutes allotted to him and forgot to tell him about that other thing which he will now have to make a separate appointment for!

I’m curious as to how you see the French and Canadian healthcare systems considering they are health insurance based too and considered far superior to the UK.