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A comment on Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? Germans Get It for $55. Parent comment

Re:Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? German... by xamolxix on Friday March 22, 2019 @07:14AM (#19461406)
> It costs £0 to see the doctor

Kind off, people do pay national insurance, also a part of the overall tax goes into the NHS as well.

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Re:Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? German... by DanBC on Friday March 22, 2019 @09:07AM (#19462144)
The NHS is paid mostly by taxes. NI only pays for about 20% of it.
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Re:Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? German... by cm2187 on Friday March 22, 2019 @07:18AM (#19461431)
And the doctors are paid less than an average accountant in the UK.
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Re:Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? German... by derekp7 on Friday March 22, 2019 @07:55AM (#19461658)
How much did their education cost? At least in the US, doctors don't make that much after student loan payments, insurance, etc.
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Re:Why Should Americans Be Grateful for $137 Insulin? German... by signalsmith on Friday March 22, 2019 @10:59AM (#19463130)
Are you asking how much it costs to get a medical degree as a UK citizen?

In England* there is a cost (£9250/year), but it's slightly misleading to think of it like that because of how Student Loans work here.

You pay nothing on your Student Loan up to a certain income (£25k, or $33k), 9% past that point, and then the remainder gets forgiven after 25 years. So in practice, it's an additional marginal tax rate for having gone to university.

(* different elsewhere in the UK - e.g. free in Scotland)

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