Maybe, maybe not. I've used the NHS extensively, here's some of the differences I like here:

- don't like my GP? I can switch, easily. In the NHS - forget it. I'm stuck with a potentially lousy fucking GP.

- Referrals - done within a few minutes at my GP office. NHS - it took *30 fucking days* to get a referral from my GP to a BUPA specialist.

- Specialists - the quality of care all depends on the foundation (region). You can _not_ go outside it. Period. Here - I could go from the Lahey network, to the Emerson one if I had a PPO, and if on HMO I could change my GP to one in that network. Done.

It's all about perspectives. People in the UK think the US system is fucking horrendous, but they've *never* used it in anger. They just hear the shit stories mostly from junk states. Is private healthcare, primarily funded by employers, a good system? Fuck no - but the other alternative isn't all sea and roses.