Medical Care in Great Britain and the United States

In Britain, there is a National Health Service (the NHS), which is paid for by taxes and national insurance, and in general people do not have to pay for medical

treatment. Every person is registered with a doctor in their local area, known as a general practitioner or G. P. This

means that their name is on the GP^fs list, and they may make an appointment to see the doctor or may call the doctor out to visit them if they are sick. People do sometimes have to pay part of the cost of drugs that the doctor prescribes. GPs are trained in general medicine but are not specialists in any particular

subject. If a patient needs to see a specialist doctor, they must first go to their GP and then the GP will make an appointment for the patient to see a specialist at a hospital or clinic.

Although everyone in Britain can have free treatment under the NHS, it is also possible to have treatment done privately, for which one has to pay. Some people have private health insurance to help them pay for private treatment. Under the NHS, people who need to go to the hospital (e.g. for an operation) may have to

wait a long time on a waiting list for their treatment. If they pay for the

treatment, they will probably get it more quickly.

Anyone who is very sick can call an ambulance and get taken to the hospital for free urgent medical treatment. Ambulances are a free service in Britain. American hospitals are in general well-equipped and efficient, and doctors earn incomes far above the general average. For anyone who is sick, the cost of treatment is very high. There is a strong prejudice against "socialized medicine" (particularly among doctors), and there are only two federal health programs. Medicare provides nearly free treatment for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor — though, with an extremely complex system of admissible charges through Medicare, elderly people do not recover the full cost of some types of expensive treatment. Even so, the cost of Medicare to federal funds rose to seventy billion dollars in 1985, or more than two thousand dollars for each of the thirty million participants. Medicaid, for the poor, varies from one state to another because the states are heavily involved in it and some contribute more generously than others.

Working people and their families are normally insured through private plans against the cost of treatment and against possible loss of earnings if they are sick The plans are often operated by deductions from one's salary. They too are enormously expensive, and the cost is rising. No single insurance system is absolutely comprehensive; some people have more than one policy and yet remain liable to bear some costs themselves. Among ordinary people anxiety about the possibility of illness is accentuated by fears about its cost. These fears are reflected in some resentment against the medical profession, and this resentment is not alleviated by doctors' reluctance to visit patients in their homes.

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A: For me there is nothing like travel by air; it is more comfortable, more convenient and of course far quicker than any other method. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey, none of the trouble of changing from train to steamer and then to another train. Besides, flying is a thrilling thing,. Don't you agree?

2. : I think I should like to say a word or two for trains. With a train you have speed\ comfort and pleasure combined. From the comfortable corner seat of a

railway carriage you have a splendid view of the whole countryside. If you are hungry, you can have a meal in the dining-car; and if the journey is a long one you can have a wonderful bed in a sleeper. Besides, do you know any place that is more interesting than a big railway station? There is the movement, the excitement, the gaiety ofpeople going away or waiting to meet friends. There are the shouts of the porters as they pull luggage along the platforms to the waiting trains, the crowd at the booking - office getting tickets, the hungry and thirsty ones hurrying to the refreshment rooms before the train starts. No, really! Do you know a more exciting place than a big railway station?

Cecil: I do .

A.: And what is?

2. : A big sea port. For me there is no travel so fine as by boat. I love to feel the deck of the boat under my feet, to see the rise and fall of the waves; to feel the fresh sea wind blowing in my face and hear the cry of the sea-gulls. And what excitement, too, there is in coming into the harbour and seeing round us all the ships, steamers, cargo-ships, sailing ships, rowing boats.

A.: Well, I suppose that is all right for those that like it, but not for me. I am always seasick, especially when the sea is a little bit rough.

BI have heard that a good cure for seasickness is a small piece of dry bread.

A.: Maybe; but I think a better cure is a large piece of dry land.

David: Well, you may say what you like about aeroplane flights, sea voyages, railway journeys or tours by car, but give me a walking tour any time. What does the motorist see of the country? But the walker leaves the dull broad highway and goes along little winding lanes where cars can't go. He takes mountain, paths through the heather, he wanders by the side of quiet lakes and through the shade of woods. He sees the real country, the wild flowers, the young birds in their nests, the deer in the forest; he feels the quietness and calm of nature. And

besides, you are saving your railway fare travelling on foot. No One can

deny that walking is the cheapest method of travelling. So i say:

a walking tour for me.