• DJDarren@thelemmy.club
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    1 year ago

    I guess I pay a similar amount as you; around £230 a month in National Insurance. According to XE that’s about $280.

    And yeah, that’s not a bad amount to cover any medical needs I might have.

    The difference is that, by and large, that’s all I pay. If I got hit by a car tomorrow, I wouldn’t get charged a penny for the paramedic, for the equipment they use to help me, for the ambulance to take me to hospital, for the doctors and nurses who patch me up, and for all the physio, medications and aftercare I’ll need.

    I’ll pay ~£10 per prescription, but if I develop a chronic, life threatening condition, that fee will be waived. If I don’t, then I can pay a flat annual fee of £110 and receive as many prescriptions as I need.

    Also, my National Insurance contributions (theoretically) ensure that when I reach retirement age I’ll be able to receive a state pension.

    The NHS is something that I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep, and you guys in the US should be fighting for your own version of it.

    • Candybar121@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      i wonder how many people will live through their whole lives without ever needing to use the insurance they pay for anyway.