Stephen Hawking and the UK government-run health service

[Starlight]

One of the things about recently-deceased Steven Hawking's life which doesn't seem to be well-known in America is the extent to which he owed his life to, and felt a deep personal debt to, and fought for, the UK's government-run health service. For 55 years he received treatment and assistance that kept him alive and able to pursue his passion of physics research and writing, long after money would have run out in a privatized healthcare system. Consider how much 55 years worth of healthcare would have cost him in the US's private system, and then consider that because he got all that free in the UK from the government that he was able to do his physics for which he was famous.

When the US was reaching peak wild Obamacare-will-kill-us-all claims:

in 2009 the US Investor’s Business Daily argued that Stephen Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless”.

Their comments provoked laughter as they didn't seem to realize that Hawking was English and had indeed received life-saving healthcare in the UK from the NHS.

Hawking's own response was swift:

“I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS... I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.”

In 2017, when the UK's conservative government were unveiling their plans to privatize parts of the NHS, Hawking entered the debate:

When the NHS was plunged into crisis amid plans to privatise the service, Hawking lashed out at the politicians he held responsible in a 2017 speech at the Royal Society of Medicine. He blamed ministers for funding cuts, pay caps and weakening the service through privatisation. He saw it all leading to a “US-style insurance system”... Hawking [argued] that the NHS was heading towards a US-style healthcare system run by private companies. [The conservative government], he pointed out, named Kaiser Permanente, the major US healthcare provider, as a model for the future budgetary arrangements of the NHS before the Commons health select committee in 2016....

Hawking joined a lawsuit in December [2017] aimed at blocking [the conservative government's] plans for the NHS.

AFAICT he was still part of that lawsuit four months later at the time of his death yesterday.

[lilpixieofterror]

He didn’t get it for free.

[EvoUK]

They were actually discussing that if he had been born recently, and was 22 years old and just developing MND now, his chances at becoming as productive a member of society would be much lower, due to conservative government cut backs and changes to PIP.

[EvoUK]

He didn’t get it for free.

Well obviously it is paid for by taxes - however 'free at the point of use' is the general term.

[lilpixieofterror]

Well obviously it is paid for by taxes - however 'free at the point of use' is the general term.

It’s actually a form of deceptive advertising. If you hide the price of something, how do you know you are actually getting a good deal?

[Mountain Man]

Well obviously it is paid for by taxes - however 'free at the point of use' is the general term.

It's deceptive interpretation of the word "free"

[firstfloor]

It's deceptive interpretation of the word "free"

You may recall the healthcare issue portrayed in the film “As Good As It Gets.”
Well, that can’t happen in the UK. That’s the effect that the NHS has on the lives of ordinary people. The corporations would be happy to take it away because they are greedy.

[Psychic Missile]

It’s actually a form of deceptive advertising. If you hide the price of something, how do you know you are actually getting a good deal?

How is it possible to hide the fact that the NHS is funded by taxes? Who wouldn't know that?

[EvoUK]

It's deceptive interpretation of the word "free"

Not really- it’s sort of common knowledge that the NHS is paid for by taxes- no pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes as it’s a common point of discussion (NHS funding).

I imagine initially it may be that way in the US if you finally got a proper healthcare system, which is probably the cause of the misconception.

But then misunderstanding what ‘free at the point of use’ means is hardly a critique of the system.

[Charles]

It's deceptive interpretation of the word "free"

So we all know it was paid by tax payers. No one is denying that. However he did not pay for his particular treatment which was "free at the point of use". Would you really believe tax payers did not notice they paid taxes? There is no deception, it is all very easy to understand and no one is hiding anything. So it rather seems that your use of the word "deceptive" is actually deceptive.

[Raphael]

They were actually discussing that if he had been born recently, and was 22 years old and just developing MND now, his chances at becoming as productive a member of society would be much lower, due to conservative government cut backs and changes to PIP.

He would also have a fair number of people encouraging him to visit a clinic in the Netherlands or Switzerland so as not to be a burden / suffer the indignity and pain of the condition because people today tend not to see a 22 year old who has been given a diagnosis like that to be able to be productive members of society.

Today, compared to when Hawking was 22, we encourage people to give up way too easily.

[Mountain Man]

Not really- it’s sort of common knowledge that the NHS is paid for by taxes- no pulling the wool over anyone’s eyes as it’s a common point of discussion (NHS funding).

I imagine initially it may be that way in the US if you finally got a proper healthcare system, which is probably the cause of the misconception.

But then misunderstanding what ‘free at the point of use’ means is hardly a critique of the system.

By that logic, my healthcare is "free" through my insurance because I don't pay "at the point of use".

By propagandizing that the healthcare is "free", your government has conditioned you to stop asking how much you're really paying and whether or not you're getting a good deal.

[Raphael]

I don't consider my health care to be free, and I can certainly point out areas where our healthcare system is in need of improvements. But at the same time I think that a country that offers socialized healthcare (e.g. NZ, UK, Canada) does more good than not having a socialized healthcare system

and I have also lived in a country where you need to have an expensive Medical Aid (what you call health insurance) and I was fortunate to have a fairly good one. But looking at the effect on the society of a country as a whole, Socialised Healthcare means more people can access medical care which in turn keeps them healthier, and that in turns helps them be more productive members of society.

[lilpixieofterror]

How is it possible to hide the fact that the NHS is funded by taxes? Who wouldn't know that?

Lots of people that continue to call it ‘free healthcare’?

[lilpixieofterror]

So we all know it was paid by tax payers. No one is denying that. However he did not pay for his particular treatment which was "free at the point of use". Would you really believe tax payers did not notice they paid taxes? There is no deception, it is all very easy to understand and no one is hiding anything. So it rather seems that your use of the word "deceptive" is actually deceptive.

How many people are actually aware of the amount of taxes they pay?