That sounds like incredibly awful implementation. I live in Uruguay where we have a hybrid system, it's single-payer in that everything is funded through the st

That sounds like incredibly awful implementation. I live in Uruguay where we have a hybrid system, it's single-payer in that everything is funded through the state, but you have a choice of medical systems, mostly are Mutual Organizations ("Mutualistas"). And, while there are some bad wait times for non-life threatening surgery, I consider the overall system really good. My sister-in-law had major surgery and hospitalization and care was very good. It's not so strict as a pure "public" service, and there are state-managed hospitals where you can get bad experiences like crowding and bad care, but never to the level you're describing. And I can (and did) choose to have some better services on top of the basic ones so I have amazing emergency services and same-day specialists, for an extra 200 dollars (on top of my mandatory health tax bill which is also like 500 dollars). http://www.expatfinder.com/uruguay/expat-guides/article/healthcare-in-uruguay/1966 http://www.expatfinder.com/uruguay/expat-guides/article/heal...