[replying to pjc50] > Any whiff of ineligibility by payment is completely unacceptable, and rightly so, or we'd end up with the US disaster Lots of European s

[replying to pjc50] > Any whiff of ineligibility by payment is completely unacceptable, and rightly so, or we'd end up with the US disaster Lots of European systems require e.g. payment for GP appointments and aren't anything like the US system. Likewise, the UK makes people pay for dentistry, spectacles. > From a political point of view, we have to defend the existing system because otherwise the US one will be forced on us This sounds like unsourced propaganda... > Private health insurance is quite cheap in the UK compared to America because anything complicated or expensive can and will be dumped back on the public sector. Most private healthcare in the UK covers complicated and expensive cancer treatments, including ones not covered by the NHS, so this doesn't hold water. (There are a few cheaper, less common insurance plans that don't cover cancer and are designed to complement the NHS coverage, AFAIK)