I'm in two minds about the whole health care system having experienced both the US system and the NHS. On the one hand tax funded healthcare seems like the fairest idea, but on the other hand it's not without its drawbacks. When I got told I had skin cancer and had to have surgery ideally within 6 weeks (preferably a lot less) in order to stop it spreading to my lymph system, I made inquiries back home in the UK as to possible waiting times to have the surgery for free and was told that there was a strong possibility that I'd have to wait longer than that, worst case maybe even double. Not having health insurance at the time I realized it was going to cost a considerable sum in the US, but I didn't want to substantially decrease my chances of survival on an NHS waiting list, so I bit the bullet. When I asked the specialist how soon I could have the surgery, he asked me "when are you next free?" I also found there was quite a bit of wriggle room with the price - when I told the surgeon that I was paying for it out of pocket, he slashed the price for me. I'm not sure how often that happens. I was also given a variety of payment options by the hospital, and they also put my in contact with a cancer charity which helps uninsured people with treatment payments. In the end I decided that since I had the money it would be wrong of me to accept charity, even though I certainly had other plans for that cash
- but in the end, I consider it the best money I ever spent. The quality of treatment here really is second to none in terms of facilities, waiting times etc. It was certainly a far cry from anything I'd ever experienced back home.
On the other hand, I once went into an emergency room in NYC with strep throat and for a 5 minute session with a student doctor, during which he injected my butt with penicillin and told me to be on my way, I was charged almost $1000 (most of which was an "emergency room fee"). So there's that.