Why Universal Health Care provides more than just health care

And, maybe, why the powers that be will not vote for it

I am an American expat working in Europe – in the UK to be precise – in Scotland to be even more precise. Here we have the National Health Service (NHS) and for approximately £120/month (about $150/month in US dollars), I get health care. Let me give my American friends an idea what that means . . .

When I need to see my doctor, there is no paperwork and no co-pay. When I need a prescription, I pay nothing out of pocket here in Scotland (England and Wale pay for their prescriptions, but a much smaller amount than you might expect; in Northern Ireland, there is no out-of-pocket cost for prescriptions). When I have a cold, the pharmacist can prescribe medication and I do not even need to go see the doctor. When I need a dental check-up or eye examination, the NHS has it covered for the basics. I have been to A&E (Accident and Emergency department equivalent to the Emergency Room of an American hospital) at no cost. I have had x-rays, lab tests, mammograms, pap smears, colon cancer screenings, flu shots, covid vaccinations, and physical therapy for frozen shoulder – all with no out-of-pocket cost.

Yes, there are sometimes long waits, but when is the last time you needed a specialist in the US? How long did you wait? If I don’t want to wait, I can pay privately. I did this once to get an MRI for that frozen shoulder – it cost me less than £100.

Brain scan for which I paid £0.

The best part is that, even if I were not working and paying National Insurance taxes, I would still get health care. And, THAT is the key.

Europeans read the news and often ask me why Americans are not marching in the streets, calling for general strikes, and basically refusing to work for the 1% who are taking over the country. This is what I tell them. . .

The USA still has slavery. Employees are slaves to their employers. Sure, they get paid, but sometimes barely enough to eat and pay rent. They have little or no power over their work situation. They can be denied fair wages and made to suffer working conditions that would not be tolerated here in Europe. (I’ll just throw this in: I work a 35-hour work-week and get 40 days of paid leave every year, and this is not atypical. We have living-wage laws and a person can actually survive on minimum wage.) American workers are enslaved because their health care is tied to their employment. They cannot leave a bad job or participate in a general strike without risking their job. Without a job, health care options are extremely limited.

Sure, employees in the USA are supposed to be protected from retaliation if they strike. Sure, they are supposed to have the right to unionize. But, when you have a family depending on you for health care, you cannot risk losing your job just to make a point, no matter how valid that point might be. Securing those rights is time consuming and costly and you have to survive and take care of your family in the meantime.

If and when the USA is ready for a general strike, Universal Health Care should be the highest priority demand. Freeing employees to leave a bad job without risking their children’s lives would be the beginning in a long line of needed reforms and movement toward greater income equality.

Providing health care for all as a human right should be the minimum acceptable in a country as rich as the USA. Universal Health Care is a form of freedom. Let’s fight to end health care slavery and provide Universal Health Care to all because we could sure use a general strike right about now.