> I remember only reading complaints about the UK system until ACA began to be debated, then suddenly it was the benchmark of great healthcare. Things changed

> I remember only reading complaints about the UK system until ACA began to be debated, then suddenly it was the benchmark of great healthcare. Things changed significantly for the better after Labour came to power in 1997 and began to significantly increase the budget for healthcare. I remember long waiting times for non-urgent care as a constant item in the news growing up in the 80's and 90's. With the increased funding it largely ceased to be a problem. Currently the UK spends about the same as the US on public healthcare (a little under 8%) but gets full universal coverage free at the point of use. Selling your house to pay for healthcare in the UK isn't unheard of (desperate parents taking their kid abroad for experimental cancer treatments) but it's nothing like as common as it is here in the US where medical debts are the commonest cause of personal bankruptcy.