No such thing as free health care bro.....

thats funny, i had free health care in sweden...education too!:angel: and i will tell you, it worked - well.

wow, what a great debate ..
I live in the Uk, we have a 'free' health system...or do we??
National Insurance includes health care and is about about 13% on top of income tax at 40%...No such thing as free!!!
The system is a con..lets see, the govt charges everyone, it then spends all the money looking after us and our medical needs...does it hell...it gives a second rate service, cutting costs wherever possible, shutting hospitals, wards and departments..making doctors and nurses redundant. Then pockets the difference...trust me you are better off with a private medical system that gives top rate service. The doctors and support staff here are fantastic, its the system that lets them down.
I live near Gatwick airport, a major hospital in this area is the Princess Royal, the trauma dept was shut last year which means any accident victims have an extra 30min journey to hospital. The plan is this year another unit will shut, to save money. Yet do I get a refund on my payments NO!! Cleaning is so bad in hospitals, (because its done on the cheap), that hundreds die each year from MRSA, the only safe thing to do is pay for decent private care.. But of course you dont get a refund so the govt keeps all the money..
I work in the fire service, how do you think I feel when my lads work their hearts out to get someone out of a wreck only to see them die because the local hospital ward is shut. To see men in tears because a 4 year old girl died in our arms because the nearest ambulance was 35 mins away..
My wife had a problem, she was seen by a doctor the next day via private insurance through her company..I had a problem, waited a year to be operated on via the NHS (National Health Service).
I could go on and on but I dont think my blood pressure will take it..
We intend to move to the Bahamas soon, with the great people, great weather (most of the time) and a good health plan.. Just dont let these people empire build for their own ends at your expense.


err...i think we all know the NHS is crap :gi:

But arent national health plans cheaper in the long run because they promote a healthier population?

While its true that if you bleeding or broken up and you go to the emergency the hospitals have to treat you. But that way ends up costing the nation a fortune. A national health plan makes routine medical ..i.e. preventative care available to everyone. its cheaper to treat your high blood pressure and and cholesterol than it is to treat a heart attack or stroke victim.

Seeing your doctor on a regular basis and staying healthy is cheaper than not seeing your doctor at all and waiting till the hospitals are forced to treat you for a sickness that could have been prevented.

I think a national health plan is a good thing that will help the people of the Bahamas. And it will be cheaper in the long run.....





You are only better off with a private healthcare system if you can afford to pay for the doctors. Your average person cannot. If you can afford to pay privately for a doctor now....then you will still be able to pay privately for a doctor then..... this system is for the vast majority of our people who cannot afford to pay a doctor privately for the routine health maintenance that everyone should have access too. My god people what about the children!!!!!!!

(Shameless pull at the heartstrings.....) but seriously.... Poverty aint no joke in the Bahamas....national health plan will go a long way.


There. The highlighted bit is the most important thing you wrote. We are not "preventative" peeps. We re-actionary. What you said is absolutely true, but how many people do you know go for their full annual check up? people go to the doctors when they are ill - now if we were as advanced as you insinuate (ie preventative) most people wouldnt have a problem...you get me? anyway, im tired and going home!

err...i think we all know the NHS is crap :gi:

yes we know its crap here but it shouldn't be, and it needn't be...if it was run properly then it could work... 'IF' and its a big IF the people of the Bahamas are very lucky they will learn from our mistakes; they will have just a small tax levied on them to pay for it, in fact as an outsider hoping to get in I would willingly pay an extra few percent on say house puchase tax (the rich could help the people even if they do hide behind walls!!) . The main point is ALL the money raised is spent on good buildings, good equipment, staff and medicine; not on dozens of hospital managers or put into the govt purse for something else, like say a new parliament building, flash cars and expense accounts..
We have lots of examples here.....
Road tax..I pay about 350 US$ a year per vehicle, except the money isnt spent on the roads, which are in a terrible state of repair in some areas.
Free education?? no such thing, thats what tax is for....my kids went through school in temporary buildings from the 1960s, the buildings are still in use now.
the list goes on and on...
My fear is that it will be just another tax on the people who can least afford it, after a while which could be 20 or 30 years, when the govt realises just how much its all costing, the service will be cut back to the point where you will have pretty much what you have now, except you will be paying more for it.
By all means go for the scheme, but find out how much it will cost, what percentage of the revinue will be put into the service, how it will be run and what you will get for your money.

I hope they know what they are doing with this. I mean don't we still have the National Insurance Board that is still threatening to go bankrupt in another decade or two?

Originally Posted by Bahamasinmyheart
But arent national health plans cheaper in the long run because they promote a healthier population?

While its true that if you bleeding or broken up and you go to the emergency the hospitals have to treat you. But that way ends up costing the nation a fortune. A national health plan makes routine medical ..i.e. preventative care available to everyone. its cheaper to treat your high blood pressure and and cholesterol than it is to treat a heart attack or stroke victim.

Seeing your doctor on a regular basis and staying healthy is cheaper than not seeing your doctor at all and waiting till the hospitals are forced to treat you for a sickness that could have been prevented.

I think a national health plan is a good thing that will help the people of the Bahamas. And it will be cheaper in the long run.....



You are only better off with a private healthcare system if you can afford to pay for the doctors. Your average person cannot. If you can afford to pay privately for a doctor now....then you will still be able to pay privately for a doctor then..... this system is for the vast majority of our people who cannot afford to pay a doctor privately for the routine health maintenance that everyone should have access too. My god people what about the children!!!!!!!

(Shameless pull at the heartstrings.....) but seriously.... Poverty aint no joke in the Bahamas....national health plan will go a long way.



There. The highlighted bit is the most important thing you wrote. We are not "preventative" peeps. We re-actionary. What you said is absolutely true, but how many people do you know go for their full annual check up? people go to the doctors when they are ill - now if we were as advanced as you insinuate (ie preventative) most people wouldnt have a problem...you get me? anyway, im tired and going home!


Lol. You are right..... but lawd knows we a nation of car owners... most of us got more cars than we can park in the driveway.... so lets look at it like that.

Government has a plan that requires all mechanics to fix your car when you come in with an emergency ..when the car aint moving anymore. (this is our current plan)

But instead...the government proposes to still pay for those who's engines on fire and transmission frozen up or clutch busted.....but also want to make it free for you to go the the mechanics office once a month or more if you want to to check the belts, the oil level, and make sure everything is running smooth.

So the government still paying to put the fires out......but they also paying and encouraging you to go see the mechanic before the engine ever catch fire. They not just doing it cause the love you and your car. They doing it because its cheaper. They doing because it what makes financial sense and has the added bonus of being good for the entire country. If you going to have to pay for a new engine in the end aint it cheaper to just provide fresh oil to start with.

as long as they get the plan right. But having one is the right way to go.

Lol. You are right..... but lawd knows we a nation of car owners... most of us got more cars than we can park in the driveway.... so lets look at it like that.

Government has a plan that requires all mechanics to fix your car when you come in with an emergency ..when the car aint moving anymore. (this is our current plan)

But instead...the government proposes to still pay for those who's engines on fire and transmission frozen up or clutch busted.....but also want to make it free for you to go the the mechanics office once a month or more if you want to to check the belts, the oil level, and make sure everything is running smooth.

So the government still paying to put the fires out......but they also paying and encouraging you to go see the mechanic before the engine ever catch fire. They not just doing it cause the love you and your car. They doing it because its cheaper. They doing because it what makes financial sense and has the added bonus of being good for the entire country. If you going to have to pay for a new engine in the end aint it cheaper to just provide fresh oil to start with.

as long as they get the plan right. But having one is the right way to go.
Dang Skippy!:hammer: