Persistent use of the word "Free"
- Thread starter Romulan
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It costs €1000 per child.
potnoodler
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nothing should be declared as "free" and in my opinion nothing should be given as free, everything should have some charge as there is no appreciation to anything no matter how valuable it really is , that includes water , doctors visits , refuse , cheques etc.
Wastage will dramatically drop if people pay something small towards these major expenses.
Wastage will dramatically drop if people pay something small towards these major expenses.
I fully agree with the sentiment so far here. But I would say you hear it used by pretty much any politician in any country. Making people believe that they are getting something for free from government is one of the most evil political tools of deception.
100% agree. Visits to GPs in Germany used to be "free". A few years ago they introduced a quarterly fee of €5 if you make a visit to the GP. This tiny fee, which I believe has now gone to €10, reduced the amount of time waters that go to the doctor for a day out by 8.7% and has reduced waiting times for those that actually are sick.
100% agree. Visits to GPs in Germany used to be "free". A few years ago they introduced a quarterly fee of €5 if you make a visit to the GP. This tiny fee, which I believe has now gone to €10, reduced the amount of time waters that go to the doctor for a day out by 8.7% and has reduced waiting times for those that actually are sick.
Yeah true.
Ever see Michael Moore's Sicko film, where he tried to tell the US viewers that the UK have a totally free health service? Tosh.
He failed to tell them I pay 9% of my salary in National Insurance contributions to this 'totally free' service.
The average fee paid by the state to GP’s for medical card patients per visit is €65.
The average fee charged by GP’s for private patients is €50.
Why is the state paying a 30% premium for the volume purchase of services? In every other sector you get a discount for bulk buying.
GMS payments to GP’s should be cut by 30% (minimum). This should apply to medical card patients as well as non-medical card services that are covered by the HSE such as prenatal care and methadone services. There should also be a small fee for medical card patients to see their GP and a larger fee to get the GP to call out to see them(fee is deducted from the payment made by the state to the GP).
Here’s another thing people can do; they can take a piece of paper and write on it “the government doesn’t have any money; it spends my money and I have to repay the loans it takes out”. Then that piece of paper should be copied and stuck to the wall in every room in the house and in every workplace.
The average fee charged by GP’s for private patients is €50.
Why is the state paying a 30% premium for the volume purchase of services? In every other sector you get a discount for bulk buying.
GMS payments to GP’s should be cut by 30% (minimum). This should apply to medical card patients as well as non-medical card services that are covered by the HSE such as prenatal care and methadone services. There should also be a small fee for medical card patients to see their GP and a larger fee to get the GP to call out to see them(fee is deducted from the payment made by the state to the GP).
Here’s another thing people can do; they can take a piece of paper and write on it “the government doesn’t have any money; it spends my money and I have to repay the loans it takes out”. Then that piece of paper should be copied and stuck to the wall in every room in the house and in every workplace.
In my last job I used to hear people talking about getting Free School books/clothes, free doctors appointments and so on, it used to drive me mad.
I have lived in the UK and the best thing they could do with doctors is introduce a fee for appointments. We used to have roughly a 2-3 weeks waiting time for an appointment or you could book in for the emergency clinic which was invariably full of people with colds
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I don't mind paying for my doctor, I can get a same day appointment, am seen more or less on time and and not rushed out the door
That's interesting. There is one doctor in town whose business comes almost entirely from Medical Card Holders. He does not do appointments and the average queue time to see him is something like 3 hours. Although he only charges €25.00 for private patients most people I know prefer to pay the extra elsewhere.
I have lived in the UK and the best thing they could do with doctors is introduce a fee for appointments. We used to have roughly a 2-3 weeks waiting time for an appointment or you could book in for the emergency clinic which was invariably full of people with colds
.I don't mind paying for my doctor, I can get a same day appointment, am seen more or less on time and and not rushed out the door
purple said:
That's interesting. There is one doctor in town whose business comes almost entirely from Medical Card Holders. He does not do appointments and the average queue time to see him is something like 3 hours. Although he only charges €25.00 for private patients most people I know prefer to pay the extra elsewhere.
In my last job I used to hear people talking about getting Free School books/clothes, free doctors appointments and so on, it used to drive me mad.
I have lived in the UK and the best thing they could do with doctors is introduce a fee for appointments. We used to have roughly a 2-3 weeks waiting time for an appointment or you could book in for the emergency clinic which was invariably full of people with colds
Don't know where you were based in the UK, but The longest I have ever had to wait for an appointment to see my doctor is 2 days; if I tell them it's an emergency I can see him inside 30 minutes. (Yes it is a NHS practice.)
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But in the case of state services the person who consumes the service is actually paying for it, just not directly.
But you aren't taking money off the rest of us so you can give the pizza "free" to someone else!
we were in Manchester, north side. Not the healthiest of areas by any standards. I am sure there are variations on waiting times everywhere, my sister now lives in the same region and says her doctor is not too bad, still a 3/4 day wait for an appointment or turn up and take a chance at the open clinic twice a week. I think a nominal fee would cut down on a lot of time wasters in the NHS, who see it as a "free" health-care system
Isn't it more like everyone is paying for it, not just the person consuming the service?
Here are my observation with dentists. Until last year I got 2 "free" checkups a year paid for out of my PRSI contributions. At the time my dentist charged €70 per visit, so I was paying €240 a year for myself and my wife to have regular check ups. Now that the PRSI payment is gone the same dentist only charges €50 per visit. It is a perfect example of how government subsidies cause an increase in prices. If in the past the government had levied €140 less a year in PRSI on the average taxpayer, and not paid for dental visits, then the average person would have been €40 better off.
Yeah but PRSI isn't actually reduced so now your 4 dental visits cost you €480 per year (4 x €70 = €280)
Very true indeed. My point was that there was an opportunity in the past to have people pay €140 less PRSi per year in order to save on their dental visits.