imdavo

Scotland represent!

Though seriously, free prescriptions were a tremendous step forward.

For those who don't know: In the UK, we have the National Health Service. Treatment is free (including GP/family doctor visits) but we traditionally had to pay a "prescription charge". If a doctor prescribed medication, you'd have to pay a flat fee of around £8 (~$12 US) when you take the prescription to the pharmacy.

£8 per prescription doesn't seem like much compared to the hundred of pounds the NHS pays for the medication, but if you have an illness necessitating many medications with a short shelf life, the charges mount up.

Those with certain chronic illnesses were given exemption certificates (and didn't have to pay the charge). Those on most state benefits were also exempt.

However, in 2011 Scotland completely abolished prescription charges, joining Northern Ireland and Wales, thereby ensuring that the NHS remains free at the point of need. Prescription charges remain in England.

I think the risk here is that non-US users may feel further alienated by Google.

In the UK, we're still waiting on Android Pay (we have the necessary tokenisation infrastructure, Apple Pay and a relatively high contactless payment terminal penetration). We pay more for Nexus devices (in virtually every instance). We never got any of the "Pure Edition" devices on the Play Devices Store. Not to mention the other services like Wallet, Voice and Fi.

High device prices are one thing. But paying significantly more than our friends in the US just leaves a bad taste in the mouth, especially for those of us who have support Google, Android and it's ecosystem from the early days.

Edit: Repost as my comment seems to have disappeared

[deleted]

Absolutely. In fact, I believe that this same conclusion has been reached in other countries regarding other public benefits. I see the next step being the application of this same model to dental care.