Steven Hawkins comments on American Health system

If I understand your post, there was an editorial in IBD and someone who commented on it made an incorrect statement? That would not be surprising. If you meant that the editorial in IBD made that statement, then took it out - well, we have no way of verifying what you say. You haven't even given a link to the "corrected" editorial. I would say, however, that it is not the NHS paying for Hawking's rather elaborate system for speech - he is wealthy enough to pay for that himself. I am sure that when he was first diagnosed as a young man, that he did use the NHS but I would be surprised if he used the NHS for the bulk of his health care now, most wealthy people have private insurance and private health care. My spouse is a Brit and has experienced both health care systems, the NHS and the American system, and highly prefers the immediacy of care available in the US. I don't expect you to accept outside criticism of your health care system, people tend to get irritated when they think someone is criticizing their country. On the other hand, as an American, I get irritated when people from other countries spend a lot of time trying to prove that they know better what sort of health care system the US should have. I don't know why it matters so much to them.

One of the reasons that Europe has the National Health Insurance is they have almost no military budget. After WWII it was the US Army that stood between the Russians and the rest of Europe. Even today we have more troops stationed in Europe than the combined armies of many European Countries and what do they pay for it? Part of the reason that Europe is going bankrupt is they have so many government workers many of them in the National Health Programs.

Actually, the reason that such a system won't work in the US is because of our government and the freedoms accorded by the US Constitution. Plus, the US is a whole lot bigger than England which presents its own set of problems. The British have a tighter Governmental control over their health care system. They also can implement price controls which is what the US Government cannot do. All our Government does is set the amount they will pay kind of like an insurance company does for certain procedures. What the US Government does not do is set the actual price for the procedures. That is up to the hospitals and doctors. Many people get these two things confused.

That is America's right wing spin machine for you. You have to forgive them for not knowing he is British. Many people here don't believe in science because they think scientist make things up to become famous and to get more money for there scientific projects. When I think most scientist would tell you if they were doing that then they would just be lying to them selves. That what is the point of trying to figure out the universe if you are just going to make things up. It would defeat the purpose of becoming a scientist in the first place.