I previously thought UK health care was 2-tiered, where people can pay for private health insurance if they so choose and get better treatment than the NHS. Si

I previously thought UK health care was 2-tiered, where people can pay for private health insurance if they so choose and get better treatment than the NHS. Since getting private cover for myself, I've discovered that it is (at least) 3-tiered; for us plebs who can afford regular health insurance, you get all the inconvenience of dealing with your local GP as a required first-line step, plus all of the bullshit related to dealing with insurance companies who try to weasel out of paying for anything. I assume truly wealthy people get a different, considerably better standard of care and can shrug off the insurance company interaction (or get their staff to do the leg-work).