Hospital Parking

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This is very interesting, largely unbelievable, so complicated from my point of view.
Your medical probs make me say I will never again moan about our own, we are lucky in comparison.
 
Not only do they cross the border for cheaper medications and risk having them confiscated at the border they also cross the border for cheaper surgery. I read a story about a rancher, I believe from Colorado, who needed a knee replacement. He didn't have private insurance and didn't qualify for any government assistance and he found the cost to be prohibitive state side. It might have cost him the ranch. He was able to travel to Mexico and have the same surgery at a much lower price even when figuring in travel and a week's stay in a hotel room while he had physical therapy.

Doug
 
Some facts based on my income vs. UK income.
US federal income tax 22% if you don't have dependants, UK 40% even if you have children. US social security 6.2%, UK 25.8%. State income tax in Montana 6.9, UK has a flat VAT tax of 20% on all goods sold excluding food and goods for children. Health insurance for my wife and I $2400 a year. All the money in taxes and health insurance that I spend every year still adds up too less than your standard 40% tax on income. Your health care is not free.
Here's a link to the current state of health care in the UK https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/world/europe/uk-national-health-service.html
Cancer patients are waiting an average of 76 days before receiving treatment. In the US it's almost immediately after diagnosis. An ACL repair in the UK takes 18 weeks. I waited 3 days the first time, and 1 week the second. I could go on about the major differences in how we are treated compared to your FREE health care, but I won't. Look up wait time for a burst appendix in the UK.
Our health care system is expensive. But you get what you pay for.
 
Ty Adams said:
UK 40% even if you have children. US social security 6.2%, UK 25.8%. State income tax in Montana 6.9, UK has a flat VAT tax of 20% on all goods sold
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Ty, are you sure about those UK numbers? The reason I ask you have 40% + 25.8% which would be 65.8% that would come out of paycheck, then an additional 20% VAT tax on most goods purchased which would make a total of 85.8% of your total earned money going to taxes. That only leaves about $14 of each $100 earned. That would give a LOT of reason to work "off the books".

Ty Adams said:
US social security 6.2%
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Ty, in USA we pay 12.4% SS, you only mention the 6.2% half that shows on your paycheck if you're working for a company who pays the other half. If you're self employed you will be paying the whole 12.4% for the first $128,400. After that the money is tax free as far as SS is concerned. That has been one of the complaints from many of us "poor folk" who pay that 12.4% on our total income, while the "rich folk" only pay a MUCH smaller percentage of their income on SS.
 
KenH said:
Ty, are you sure about those UK numbers? The reason I ask you have 40% + 25.8% which would be 65.8% that would come out of paycheck, then an additional 20% VAT tax on most goods purchased which would make a total of 85.8% of your total earned money going to taxes. That only leaves about $14 of each $100 earned. That would give a LOT of reason to work "off the books".



Ty, in USA we pay 12.4% SS, you only mention the 6.2% half that shows on your paycheck if you're working for a company who pays the other half. If you're self employed you will be paying the whole 12.4% for the first $128,400. After that the money is tax free as far as SS is concerned. That has been one of the complaints from many of us "poor folk" who pay that 12.4% on our total income, while the "rich folk" only pay a MUCH smaller percentage of their income on SS.
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Yes I'm sure about the numbers. I Google searched UK tax rates, the numbers are from UK sites.
I'm sorry you have to pay that much in social security tax. Especially with a fair chunk of it not going into social security anymore. The fact is only 10% of Americans are self employed, so the majority of people only pay half. The numbers I quoted are based off of someone having a similar income to mine.
 
AMEN TO THAT.
What a depressing, miserable thread.
I've had people from Canada tell me they had to come to the states for heart surgery because the wait list in Canada would put them in the ground.
 
bladegrinder said:
AMEN TO THAT.
What a depressing, miserable thread.
I've had people from Canada tell me they had to come to the states for heart surgery because the wait list in Canada would put them in the ground.
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Agreed. It shocked me after not being on the forum for a couple of days. Free health is a hot button item for sure.
 
OUR UK legal citizens who are poor get the same health care as those who are well off and on OUR NHS.

We also have some private health care as well through the companies you work for.

Even with those 2 above if you have the money you can phone a private surgeon and get certain operations done within a week.
 
Ty Adams said:
Yes I'm sure about the numbers. I Google searched UK tax rates, the numbers are from UK sites.
I'm sorry you have to pay that much in social security tax. Especially with a fair chunk of it not going into social security anymore. The fact is only 10% of Americans are self employed, so the majority of people only pay half. The numbers I quoted are based off of someone having a similar income to mine.
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Ty, YOU are also paying 12.4% SS taxes. Your employer simply takes out 6.2% before you see it. When I was in management (or when my daughter worked PRN as a nurse) the salary is figured on if the company takes out the SS or if it's passed on to you, then you have to pay the full amount. Doesn't matter who actually turns in the money, it's coming out of YOUR paycheck.
 
KenH said:
Ty, YOU are also paying 12.4% SS taxes. Your employer simply takes out 6.2% before you see it. When I was in management (or when my daughter worked PRN as a nurse) the salary is figured on if the company takes out the SS or if it's passed on to you, then you have to pay the full amount. Doesn't matter who actually turns in the money, it's coming out of YOUR paycheck.
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Ken this is obviously a topic that you are very passionate about. I respect you and your opinion. So I'm going to bow out of the conversation.

In my defense I too have worked in management for 8 years and not once have we ever calculated someone's pay based off our portion of taxes that need to be paid.
 
Ty, please don't think I'm trying to hassle you, not at all. If you work for a company as an employee you're right, you'll only see 6.2% deducted from your paycheck. That's because the employer has already factored in your other 6.2% they must pay. When the hourly rate (or salary) is calculated, all those costs are factored in. If the employer can "hire you out" to another company (contract maintenance, contract engineer, etc) the employer will take the billing rate as a total. Then the employer will factor in what they consider as the profit margin, cost of workman's comp, your half of SS (6.2%), your medical costs, overhead costs, vacation pay (if any), holidays (if any) - all the things that are a cost to the employer, subtract that total from the billing rate, and that leaves what the employer can pay the employee. Been there, done that many times in working up a new contract.

Ty, you might not have been aware of the SS costs being factored in, but they are there - ain't no free lunch.
 
Ken employee cost is a big part of what I do everyday. Labor cost, consumable cost, maintenance cost, overtime, risk management, insurance both health and workmans comp, p and l statements, long term investments, short term investments, asset cost, the list goes on and on. I run a 20 man shop with millions of dollars in equipment. The fact is social medicine cost the working person more. I like facts and numbers..... every country that has socialized medicine taxes their people almost to poverty. You said yourself that 12.4% in social security is crazy, imagine paying 25.8%. I want free health care for all, but i wont trade my 60+ hour work week to have low mileage cars, a nice house, and some flexible income to live in a smaller house, drive high mileage cars, and just get by so everyone can have health care. We all have choices in life, chose somewhere that has affordable heath care or dont. It was even posted in this thread that if you are wealthy in these countries you can afford to get better care. Not many people in this world are wealthy. Most plug away trying to enjoy life.
 
We pay at any chemist of our choosing approx £8 for each item on a NHS general practitioner prescription, example, if you had 6 different items you would pay £8 x 6= £48, imagine having that every month.
You can get "season tickets."

You are exempt of these charges if you are at pension age or getting unemployment/sickness benefit.


It is said that a minority here actually pay the full cost.

If you pay to see a private surgeon and he prescribes medicine then it costs quite a bit more.

The wastage here on the NHS is disgusting, people hoard stuff who get it FREE, give it to those who have to pay or just chuck it away.

I had a operation on my hand, during after treatment the nurses took special packs out of a cupboard containing the correct stuff for this job, every time I went she would open a new pack and throw away any unused contents including a brand new pair of steel scissors.

I think I have it about right.

A wicked waste.
 
Our hospital staff are forced to use the hospital carpets and MUST pay, the streets around hospitals are no parking for most roads/streets.
 
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