I'm not pitting the U.S. against the UK. Just using it as an example of a different system of HC that I think is more effective/affordable and provides similar or better outcomes in the long run for the patient. The UK, like all countries, has huge problems with poverty, education, privacy. So do we. We fair better in some areas, they do better in others. I love the U.S. because I'm an American...it's my home...and there is a national pride as a result.

@Joe.... my whole side of the family is in the U.S. That's hard to leave. I own a farm in AR, and one in KY, a house in Cali.... also hard to leave. With that said, we may move at some point. We will be traveling in the next year to check that possibility out. Could be a great adventure. Some Canadians do come down here, just as some Americans sneak up there for care when they can't afford it down here. My wife had a pituitary tumor, and even with BC PPO Ins it cost about 140,000.00 in cash. BC decided they didn't want to pay most of the bills. We met someone in B.C. who had the exact same disease and surgical procedure and it cost nothing. Which would you choose.

@Joe..... statistically....Obama has deported way more people per year than any other President in our countries history. Fact! He does not want to open up the borders. He wants to make it possible for people who are already here to have a pathway to a legal status so they are part of the tax pool, etc.

@Joe, Canadians would never give-up their national HC system. It always polls extremely high. Sure they've got problems, so do we. I know where Kamloops is and it's in the boonies. We have the same sort of problems here in the U.S. in our rural areas. My grandparents lived in rural AR and had to drive a 1/2 hour to get to the nearest doctors office. I have other fam in rural KY, same thing. Canadians live on average 2 yrs longer than Americans, and they aren't in debt for life if they get ill.

I think there will be precious little effect on patients or doctors when HCR goes into effect in 2014. The proof will be in the pudding. Some aspects of the HCR bill have already gone into effect and it hasn't adversely effected docs or patients.

@Joe.... the Bush tax cuts were enacted in 2003, if I remember correctly. By the time Bush left office, the economy was shedding up to 700,000 jobs a month....and that went on for months! So much for expanding the tax base, and trickle down.

@Joe, I agree with you regards to the mandate in HC reform specifically. There were A LOT of liberals, like myself that didn't like it one bit. I understand the purpose of it, but didn't like it. I think they should have left it voluntary and then made Medicare available to anyone who wanted to join. That would put some MAJOR competition into the system.

In England and New Zealand, can't speak for other countries..... they have a national healthcare system, which most citizens partake of. However, they also have private ins and doctors/hospitals. That would be my preferred choice.

I'm back! I think you will find you are wrong regarding healthcare. You might even find that your monthly premiums go down in the next 5-10 years once the wrinkles have been ironed out from the HCR bill.

I didn't understand the last part of your comment. As regards to the first part....healthcare/insurance. I have Blue Cross PPO ins. It expressly states that they don't cover cosmetic surgery unless it's part of an accident/injury reconstructive nature. Some healthcare plans may cover that stuff, but a lot don't. So I don't know where you got the idea that all of them do. In any case, yes, that is how health ins works. Yo u pay in and it spreads the risk around, and those who need it benefit, those who don't are lucky they don't, but also don't get a return on their money. Just like with auto ins.