On 03/02/2012 16:56, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In , charles
wrote:
In , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article4f2c0467.141281750@localhost, Cynic
wrote:
I see two perfectly reasonable solutions. The first is as I
mentioned - friends and relatives who do not work step in and help.
The second is for you to take out insurance to cover the possibility
that you will have to give up work due to your own or someone else's
disability.

Surely that's what NI does? And without a private company making a
profit?

No, that's what NI was supposed to do. It also seems to make a loss for
the state (ie taxpayer)

So would you privatize it while making it compulsory? The snag with
voluntary schemes is many will just take the risk it won't happen to them.
Look at what is happening to pensions in the UK now so many employers have
pulled out of providing them without choice to their employees.

You don't have to take the risk to get caught out. I had insurances that
paid most of my commitments, but they generally only last one year (and
even that is very expensive) - our wonderful NHS bounced my wife around
various consultants and tests, with long waits for each, for two and a
half years before they diagnosed her condition. Total time being seen or
tested during that time, less than a day, discounting waiting. Along the
way, one consultant stated that he didn't know what the problem was, but
could take away the symptoms - he "offered" and then pushed for my wife
to let him permanently blind her in her left eye! In the end it turned
out to be a problem that could be alleviated with medication.

Two things would have saved my employment - a more flexible employer
(working reduced hours for reduced pay, but at least still working or
very flexible hours) or the NHS seeing people in a reasonable time
(measured from GP referral to diagnosis, rather than separate times for
each re-referral).

My wife happens to work in the NHS and I know that she has referred
patients for treatments that will sort their problems out, only for the
budget committee to decide to send them for a cheaper option, that they
know will not work, but will push the problem out of this year's budget!
These are mental health patients, with severe conditions and by
extending their illnesses in this way, they and their families are badly
damaged and the total cost to the economy is increased ... but that's
from "different" pots, so doesn't matter!

SteveW