Free Republic

Britain’s most senior doctor has said the under-pressure NHS may be forced to abandon the concept of free healthcare for all. Prof. Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS in England, said there were doubts over whether the taxpayer-funded model was “sustainable in the longer term”. He added that huge changes were needed—including less reliance on hospitals—if free treatment was to be preserved. He told the Guardian: “If the NHS continues to function as it does now, it’s going to really struggle to cope because the model of delivery and service that we have at the moment is not...

“Free” preventive health care is one of Obamacare’s chief selling points. But as millions of newly covered people begin to seek that benefit, some are still getting stuck with bills. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to pay the full cost of services like cholesterol checks, women’s birth control, immunizations, colonoscopy screenings and a host of other items. It also covers “well visits” for children and adults — periodic checkups not triggered by a particular health complaint. But does a free colonoscopy cover just the screening or the immediate removal of polyps, too? Does the smoking-cessation benefit include counseling, medication...