Op-Ed: Health care is never free

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND – The new British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has commented on a report he commissioned that found the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is in a deplorable condition. The report’s findings echoed media investigations of the past which discovered unacceptably long waits for treatment, hospital structures that are crumbling, patients dying unnecessarily, patients on trolleys in hallways because no rooms were available, mental health patients occupying cells infested with vermin, and fewer MRI scanners than in countries of similar size. Fixing the NHS, which has had widespread support across party lines since its creation in 1948, was a central theme in Starmer’s campaign that brought Labour back to power.

Starmer announced a 10-year plan to “fix” the system which will doubtless include more spending and probably even higher taxes..