President Barack Obama’s plan to introduce an NHS-style healthcare system across the United Stated has taken a potentially serious setback today as the Democrats lost their control over Massachusetts. The state has been a Democrat stronghold since 1972, meaning that Scott Brown will be the first Republican senator there for over thirty five years. It is thought that Obama’s healthcare bill is one of the main reasons for the upset, and has been very controversial for the President despite the fact that many Americans do not have access to healthcare. Almost all the population of Massachusetts (98 percent) are covered by private health insurance so the new bill would not greatly benefit them. Brown told NBC, "We would have lesser care, longer lines and pay higher taxes and it makes no sense."


Criticisms of the NHS have come to the fore front in the debate over introducing universal health care into the United States and may have made people in this country consider covering themselves with a private medical insurance policy as an alternative. The huge cost of introducing it is one obstacle to begin with and many people are worried that the quality of their health services will suffer as a result. People in the UK have the option whether they would like to ‘upgrade’ their treatment with private healthcare if they are not happy with the services available and it is a popular choice for many. The NHS offers a good level of care to everyone, but it has its problems, including lengthy waiting times and issues of cleanliness and it is this that is forming the opinions of those people who oppose Obama’s plans. Brown also told NBC, "I believe everybody should have healthcare, it's just a question of how we do it." The Democrats will decide later today what should be done about the new law, but the election of Brown to the Senate means that the Republicans now have enough votes to stop the legislation passing through.