Is The Sickness Affecting Our Health Service?

A look at some of the concerns of patients under NHS care and how some are resorting to paying for their own care to avoid more problems than they started with…

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There's always a first time for everything, and getting to look at some of the concerns of patients under NHS care is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk- Health Insurance is – "Is the sickness affecting our health service?"

Is The Sickness Affecting Our Health Service?

We do what we can for our health, we eat well, try to exercise regularly and limit our alcohol intake and for some lucky people, they can afford to pay for health insurance. Unfortunately sometimes, things still go wrong and we could be faced with treatments and operations still being necessary. Once we get to hospital for our treatment that's not necessarily the end of the worry.

More patients are now concerned with picking up an infection, such as MRSA, whilst in hospital than they are concerned about the operation itself. There has been so much in the press over the last couple of years that reports people dying from hospital contracted infections rather than from their operation or illness.

In a recent study, 40% of people polled expressed this concern with a staggering 31% saying that they would consider avoiding hospital treatment because of it.
There is still confidence in the treatment received on the NHS but since the cleaning of wards has been turned over to outside companies and subject to drastically reduced funding, it doesn't take much to see that cleanliness is not what it once was on a hospital ward.

I had three babies in hospital over a nine year period.
With the first, cleaners would come in every day and everything was stripped down and cleaned to spotless perfection. Stains were simply non-existent along with built up dirt. Matrons were in charge of their ward and nobody dared to do anything that would compromise patient safety.

By the time I had my third, cleaners were down to about once a week, blood stains were sprayed everywhere and the dirt was visible. The staffs were thinner on the ground and much more stressed. These are the nurses taking care of new born babies - the more vulnerable of our society.

Some of the problems today are relating to the shortage of money invested in hospitals. Cleaners are short on the ground as are nursing staff. When nurses are pushed to their limits, certain corners will be cut and it is thought that lack of hand washing, given restricted time and too many patients for each nurse to see to, is responsible for the spread of MRSA. There is also an issue of staff wearing uniform backwards and forwards to work, carrying germs in and out of hospitals, whereas once upon a time, uniforms would be left at work and cleaned by a specialist company to ensure sterilisation.

To combat some of these problems, the government have pledged 50 pounds million towards a deep cleaning of hospital wards. It's a good thing that at last something is being done but it shows that the old methods worked best and it proves that subbing out cleaning to contractors has not saved money or helped - in fact, it has probably cost lives.

So how can buying health insurance help? Well, it means that while the bigger picture of NHS health is an issue, at the end of the day we all need to look out for ourselves and our families. My father was recently lucky enough to have his health insurance pay out for a knee operation and I went to visit him in hospital. The difference between this place and where I stayed with my last baby was astounding.

Cleanliness was top of the bill. Staffs were helpful and unflustered and patient recovery rate was greatly increased. We cannot blame nursing staff for the problems with the NHS system, we all know they do a wonderful job with the resources that they have and are all overworked and under-paid. The government are responsible for taking our tax money to plough into a system that was meant to solve all the nation's health worries and not distributing it properly.
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Nb: …for more valuable information and guideline visit: Health Insurance Quotes . Credit to today’s guest contributor - Health expert Catherine Harvey looks at some of the reasons why people are opting for treatment through health insurance rather than using the NHS.

"You are welcome to leave your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge on this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many more".

Thank you for reading and your comments if any: - ranci endo
if you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it, so that even more people can read it and benefit!"

Can You Mix State Health Care and Private?

A look at how it depends on what part of the country you live in as to what sort of health care you are likely to receive...

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There's always a first time for everything, and getting to know what sort of health care you are likely to get is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk- Health Insurance is – "can you mix state health care and private health care?"

Can You Mix State Health Care and Private?

The National Health Service that the UK has been rightly proud of for so many years is, unfortunately, not fool proof. This is because it is, in essence, a business like any other and there is a budget that has to be kept to. At some point, that budget runs out and then what? People are left without treatment and without drugs.

'Postcode lottery' is one of the phrases that has been coined by the press recently to show that it depends on where you live as to whether or not you are going to get what you need from your doctor. Authorities in different areas will manage their budgets independently, therefore different amounts are channeled towards different things and it only takes one person to be in dire need of a new, expensive drug to throw those plans out.

This is one of the reasons that people take out private health insurance. Not only do you get the advantages of avoiding the waiting list but drugs and treatment become available that the NHS couldn't necessarily afford.

A cancer patient who could have benefited from private health insurance was recently refused any further treatment on the NHS for his advanced kidney cancer. The 49 year old father of three was given just months to live after being told that no further treatment was available for free.

This man was lucky in that the hospital treating him ignored government guidelines stating that people cannot mix private and public health care. This meant he was able to receive consistent care from the same specialists when he was able to raise the funds to pay for the drug, Student, at a cost of 3,000 pounds a month. Unfortunately, he had to cash in a pension fund and had the help of some very generous friends because he hadn't taken out private health insurance.

Mixing NHS care and privately paid care has been discouraged by the government for fear of it creating a two tier healthcare system but hospitals are bucking the system and allowing some patients a mix of NHS care and then, when funds run out, their private health insurance or other funds, kick in to pay for the rest of the treatment. Doctors are recommending drugs to patients and then telling them they can't be had on the NHS but people are dying prematurely for the want of them.

It is this very reason that makes many people do whatever it takes to raise the money to pay for their own treatment and exactly the reason that many of us should consider private health insurance before we get to this stage. Personally, I think the government should be glad that patients are willing to do this because it then frees them up to help other patients who maybe can't raise the money. Surely, at the end of the day the most important thing is that lives are saved.

The cancer patient mentioned above has seen vast improvements in his health, if it had been left to the National Health there is the possibility that he wouldn't even be here now. His quality of life has come on leaps and bounds so it's not as if the drug simply keeps him lingering on. Although he is unable to work, he can still get out and about which is something he couldn't do before the private health firm began home delivering his drug. All other checks, blood tests, x-rays etc are still carried out by the NHS, for which the patient is very grateful as this would double the costs involved.

I, for one, think that a two tier system is a good thing if it improves the lives of patients and saves lives.

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Nb: …for more valuable information and guideline visit: Individual Health Insurance Plans . Credit to today’s guest contributor - Health expert Catherine Harvey looks at the way private medical insurance can be more effective than relying on state care

"You are welcome to leave your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge on this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many more".

Thank you for reading and your comments if any: - ranci endo
if you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it, so that even more people can read it and benefit!"

Is The NHS Still Working For Us?

A look at some of the problems faced by the NHS and how health systems vary in France, leading the way for a simpler system…

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There's always a first time for everything, and getting to know some of the problems faced by the NHS is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk- Health Insurance is – "Is the NHS still working for us?"

Is The NHS Still Working For Us?

One of the biggest social aspects that Britain has been able to pride itself on over the last sixty years is the National Health Service. Free medical treatment available for everyone is something that has even attracted foreigners to take up residence within this country. For a while, even prescriptions were free although this didn't last very long. However, for everyone to have access to doctors, hospitals, consultants, medical professionals and operations, free of charge is one of the best things the government could have done for this country.

So what's going wrong? Why is it that more and more people are finding it necessary to invest in private medical insurance? Is trust in the NHS waning?

In short, yes it is. Waiting lists for consultations and operations have become notoriously long to the point where people have died while waiting to see the right person. Sometimes, general practitioners are so pressured that they miss obvious symptoms and patients are losing faith in them. On top of this, the NHS has become just as much of a business as anything else and many treatments depend on the cost, which will also hinge on where you live in the country - the so-called postcode lottery.

It also has to be said that people in Britain have become more affluent in recent years and private medical insurance is seen by many as an essential cost as opposed to an added luxury. Even if you opt for the treatment that private medical insurance brings, you do not get a reduction in the tax you pay - a proportion of which goes to the NHS.

Putting some of your finances into this private medical insurance ensures that if and when things go wrong with your health, you are guaranteed to receive the treatment you need, by the right people at the right time. It means no lengthy waiting lists or refusal of costly treatment.

So, how do other countries manage their health system and are there lessons we could learn from them?
Let's take a look at France. They do not have waiting lists. People get seen when they need to be despite only having marginally more doctors and facilities than the UK. Is it extra resources from the government? No, it's simply a different system that while not to everyone's agreement, seems to work in their favour.

In France, their system requires that you pay for doctor's appointments up front, and then claim the costs back from a compulsory social insurance scheme. This doesn't suit everyone of course, but then not every system does. It is simply a system that requires more budgeting on the behalf of the country's residents. British people have become lulled into this false sense of security after so many affluent years of having what they want, when they want it.

With the credit crunch now biting things aren't as easy as they were. Every aspect of British society is feeling the pinch and the NHS, being a business like any other, is not left untouched. Belts have been pulled in, budgets have been cut and unfortunately, not everyone is receiving the treatment they need. So, now we have a situation whereby more and more people are feeling the need to take out private medical insurance at a time when they can ill afford it.

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Nb: …for more valuable information and guideline visit: Individual Health Insurance Plans . Credit to today’s guest contributor - Health expert Catherine Harvey looks at the way private medical insurance can be more effective than relying on state care

"You are welcome to leave your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge on this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many more".

Thank you for reading and your comments if any: - ranci endo
if you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it, so that even more people can read it and benefit!"

The Best Thing for Your Trolley and Your Insurance Premiums

A look at some of the things we can do that not only benefit our health, but also our purses when it comes to what we spend on shopping and health insurance policies..

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There's always a first time for everything, and getting to know more on your health insurance premium is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk- Health Insurance is – "What’s the best thing for your trolley and your premiums?"

The Best Thing for Your Trolley and Your Insurance Premiums - Catherine Harvey

A look at some of the things we can do that not only benefit our health, but also our purses when it comes to what we spend on shopping and health insurance policies

Health or life insurance companies are all up for us looking after our health. It means that they end up paying out for less claims and that has the knock on effect of keeping down our health insurance premiums.

You know the sorts of questions they ask: Do you smoke? Have you ever been tempted to write 'only when I get hot'? How much alcohol do you drink? This is a trick question. They are asking you how much, not if you drink or not, because they now assume everybody does. If you try to be clever and reply that you only drink socially, or have the odd tipple every now and again, then you get labelled as a binge drinker!

They will ask about your exercise regime. Now everyone has a different idea of what constitutes moderate exercise. For some, it's a four mile hike before breakfast and for others it's getting up to change the channels on the TV as opposed to using the remote control.

The life insurance companies will want to know about previous medical history. This is something that will be picked apart with a fine tooth comb should any future claim be made so everything that is in your knowledge should be divulged. Funnily enough, they don't ask about your sex life or mood swings. Both affect health in quite a big way. It could also be suggested that an active sex life that releases endorphins for the upbeat mood would be better than to be a non-sexually active athlete.

Diet is one big thing that will keep private health insurance premiums down if we can honestly say that we do what we can to stick to a healthy one. However, ideas on what is healthy and what isn't vary greatly with every newspaper or magazine that we open. What's good for us one day will carry government health warnings the next!

We have always been told that food should be as fresh as possible and if it's not, then it's pointless eating it for the vitamins and minerals. Ideas on this have now changed. Canned and frozen foods were put on the same inferior par when compared to fresh foods but ideas are a-changing. Techniques for freezing food have now changed to such a degree that it means the food is as good for us as completely fresh, particularly when it comes to fish.

Twenty or thirty years ago, food like fish fingers consisted of poor quality fish mush that had no real nutritional value. Today, fish is frozen within minutes of being caught out at sea, capturing all the goodness and suspending it in time until it is on our plates, thus providing all the goodness we need.

It is essential that the food is properly cleaned and wrapped to prevent ice crystals forming and spoiling the food but fisherman are quite adept at this method now.

The same method applies to fruit and vegetables which can now reach us complete with vitamin C as rich as the day it was picked. Minimal cooking is also recommended for us to obtain the most nutrition from our food. We can also be sure that this frozen food is as fresh as it comes because there is no real definition of 'fresh' so when we think we are getting fresh food because we pick it off the supermarket shelf in its raw state, there really is no telling just how old it is and there is likely to be less goodness in this than in the frozen food.

So, next time you're food shopping, spare a thought for your life and health insurance premiums and head straight for the freezer..

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Nb: …for more valuable information and guideline visit: Individual Health Insurance Plans . Credit to today’s guest contributor - Insurance expert Catherine Harvey looks at some health tips to keep down the cost of life insurance policies.

"You are welcome to leave your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge on this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many more".

Thank you for reading and your comments if any: - ranci endo

if you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it, so that even more people can read it and benefit!"

Know More about the Best Health Insurance Plans

All you need to do is ask for the free health insurance quotes from the different companies..

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There's always a first time for everything, and getting to know more on health insurance plan is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE

The Best Health Insurance Plans

The Short Term Health Insurance is popular among all a lot of people as it is convenient for a person to avail in diverse range of situations. Take for instance a person who has just joined in their new job where the employer health care plan requires you to work for some time before becoming eligible for insurance. You can try short term health insurance.

There are numerous reasons to go for Short Term Health Insurance. One of the common reasons among these is those persons who have recently finished their college and do not fall in the purview of their parents’ medical insurance. In addition, you do not have any immediate jobs available that would take care of your health insurance with the employer’s health care plan.

Or else, you are about to join our new job after leaving the previous one and there is a gap of some time. All these interim period are ideal for going for Short Term insurance that are often provided by the employer of your previous company. A different reason is when the present health insurance plan has elapsed and you are about to renew it or going for some other plan.

Group Health Insurance plans can be obtained from the employers that are provided to the employees. There are many such plans where your spouse and children can be included in the policy. Again, there are different organizations as well as associations, which provide this kind of policy to its members as benefits. There are businesses like credit card companies, which also provide group health insurance plans to its customers as benefits.

However, the employer is not bound to provide its employees Group Health Insurance plans. In such cases, go for an individual health insurance plan. The many companies dealing with health insurance can provide you with individual health insurance plan. Search among the plans that meet all your health requirements and at the same time comes within your budget.

But, if you cannot go for either Group Health Insurance plans as your employer do not support such plans or the individual health insurance plan as you cannot afford it, you can opt for the affordable health insurance which are state sponsored. This State-sponsored Health Insurance plans could be availed for a low premium or completely free health insurance depending on you as well as your family.

The duration of these Short Term Health Insurance plans can be from one month and can go up to one year. Nevertheless, the common period for this plan is six months that could be later extended or renewed to one year. Anybody below the age of 65 can opt for this kind of plans. The premium for this plans are also minimum.

There are some plans where one can payout all the premiums at a time or else on a monthly basis. Both individuals and groups can go for these kinds of plans. Some companies provide credit card payment facilities. However, the Short Term Health Insurance plans are generally indemnity policy and do not cover your preventive treatments including medical check-up or preventive immunizations. All you need to do is ask for the free insurance quotes from the different companies.

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Nb: …for more valuable information and guideline visit: Individual Health Insurance Plans . Credit to today’s guest contributor Jeff McClendon8: is author of this article on Free Insurance Quotes.

"You are welcome to leave your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge on this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many more".

Thank you for reading and your comments if any: - ranci endo
If you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it, so that even more people can read it and benefit!"

You Health Insurance: How Do you obtain the best Policy?

There's always a first time for everything, and getting to understand health insurance policy is not exceptional. The question in today's ReiVRE: Money Talk- Health Insurance is – "how do you find the best health insurance?"

You Health Insurance: How Do you obtain the best Policy?

You will need to consider a lot of different issues when you are seeking for an individual health insurance. You will need to consider the coverage. You will have to think about the deductible. Of course the premium should also be a crucial factor when you are seeking for your health insurance.

Besides individual health insurance, your another option will be a group health insurance for your family. In this case the insurance will be protecting your whole family instead. Since the coverage and protection will be totally different, the premium of a group health insurance will also be different from an individual health insurance.

In fact, you will need to know to what extent you would like to be protected. This will have great influence on the premium. For example, if you only need the insurance to cover the expenses when you are staying in the hospital, you may not need a policy which will protect you against the expenses of other medications. To this end the premium will be a lot different. There is no rule of thumb for the extent to be protected. You should consider this according to your own needs. You may also discuss with the insurance companies and the staff there may also be able to give you some advices regarding your specific needs.

Another thing you need to consider is whether you would like to choose your own doctors or physicians. If you would like to choose your own doctors or physicians, you will probably need to choose a plan which allows you to do so. As a matter of fact, there are some policies which will not cover your medical expenses if you go to your own doctors. For such policies, you will need to go to some specified doctors or physicians so that the expenses will be covered. In such cases, you will be provided with a list of doctors or physicians. You can take a look at the list before you make your final decision.

Your budget is also very important. You have to think about how much you are willing to pay each month for your health insurance. You may go for some less expensive options if you do not want to spend too much on the insurance. Of course you should also consider your own health condition when you are setting your budget. You may want to set a lower budget if you think the expenses on medications will probably be smaller than the premium unless there are some accidents.

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Nb: …for more valuable information and guideline visit: Individual Health Insurance Plans

Credit to today’s guest contributor Jerry Leung: has great interest in finance. You can check his blog on Health Insurance.

"You are welcome to give your comment! Do you have anything you'd like to add or challenge about this hot issue? Any bad or good experience lets share. Your contribution will educate and benefit many readers".

Thank you for reading and your comments: - ranci endo

If you liked this post, please don't forget to stumble or digg it so even more people can read it and benefit!"