My recent experience of the UK National Health Service (long post)

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

BTW, my first lung collapse I was put in a room with a gentleman faking illness so he could collect his disability check from the state of MD.....screw me and tell me people do not get over on the system. Open your eyes.

In any program, government or commercial, there will always be people trying (and succeeding) to scam the system. That should not be a reflection on the system but on the criminal.

The question is: What percentage of people taking part in the program are "good people" and what percentage are "bad people"?

If a government/commercial program has 99.99% of the participants playing by the rules and 0.01% scamming the system, oh well, no need to cancel the entire program.

Even if it is 99% vs 1%. Shoot, lets really go wild 90% good vs 10% scumbags, what difference does it make? Especially if it will cost more to monitor the system to catch the few scumbags and it would cost to let them in. The program is helping 90% of the good people. Yeah it sucks that 10% are scumbags scamming the system but in any system there will always be scumbags scamming the system.

The goal should be to take reasonable precautions that are economically sound to keep the number of scumbags as low as practical. The ones that slither through, let em. Concentrate on helping the vast majority of good people that need work.

Any system that excludes 100% of the scumbags guaranteed will also be allowing well deserving good people slip through the cracks.

My opinion: It is worth allowing a few scumbags to scam the system in order to ensure that we help all the good people we can. Cost of doing good work.

YMMV