Brits- Can you tell us if your free healthcare would cover an MRI?

You only have to be in the top 50% to skip the queue. Seems fair if you wanted an unneeded test so you can get back to your hobby sooner.Most of the complaints about the 1% is wrong. It is really the .1% against the rest.

sadfasdfasdf wrote:

sdafasdfsda wrote:

I had no idea the UK had a parallel private system. Sounds much better now that I know you could "hop the queue" if you had the money. And there is "private insurance" to cover people who want to be able to do that?

Why does jumping the queue always sound better to Americans? Is everyone in America richer than their neighbour?

It seems to me that most of you are (statistically speaking) the 99%. So why does it seem that so many champion a system that benefits only those that have a lot of money (i.e. the one percent)?

This limey crap is boring. Bring on the good old American douchebag topics like Dane Rauschenberg. Yorktown baby.

Can you get an expensive procedure for a hobby that generates no income in all but a few cases?

In most cases, I hope they would say, "wait in line". An MRI as "basic care" for an amateur athlete? Rojo are you listening to what you are saying?

This is the problem with America - nobody is cognizant of the cost of anything. Consumers of healthcare in the US do not pay for MRIs, so they think they should be available if they have a hangnail. And doctors order them to avoid a lawsuit

How is this any different than people borrowing more money than they can (now) pay back on a house too big for them to live in?

The question I have is, would Gary Carter have lived longer or shorter had he not gotten that MRI that detected his brain tumors: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7583267/hall-fame-catcher-gary-carter-dies-age-57.

185 days after you need it. :)

This posters intention is correct, but what they say is wrong. ACC is not free and does not cover everything, it costs all New Zealanders in tax. Secondly, there are co-payments to almost every form of treatment, which means the government pays most of the medical bill and the client pays a surcharge on top of it. The OP is correct that ACC is a very good scheme and probably the worlds most progressive health system. It was designed with the intention of remove litigation for those needing treatment and recovering from injury. You can't sue in NZ when it comes to health and injuries.If you have an accident, even if you're committing an illegal act you're entitled to receive compensation. If you're a foriegner in NZ and get injured you're covered without paying into the scheme. The act also covers New Zealaners who are travelling internationally (as long as you have not been overseas more than 183 days). Here's an example, you're visiting New Zealand from the states on a work visa and on the 5th week in the country you drive drunk and crash. Your surgery, hospital stay, home help and rehabilitation are covered (with the addition of your co-payment) by ACC. In fact, until you're able to return to work ACC will pay 80% of your pre injury income.Just clarifying things...

dsaffsds wrote:

You only have to be in the top 50% to skip the queue. Seems fair if you wanted an unneeded test so you can get back to your hobby sooner.

You don't need to be in the top 50%. It's not like there is a fixed amount of private procedures and you have to bid on ebay to get in.

They will charge a price for the procedure, and for stuff like an MRI, the price is likely to be high but reasonable. Even a relatively not-rich person who is decent with money (ie saves and has an emergency fund) could easily pay some extra money to have a procedure done more quickly, if they thought it was in their best interest.