Don't be depressed and angry. The NHS isn't going to be sold off. No-one thinks that, outside a few extremists on the fringes of the political spectrum.
http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/how-to-abolish-the-nhs
Edit: I should point out that I don't agree with them - just pointing out that there are established well funded entities who oppose the NHS - presumably on purely ideological reasons.
But radical regulatory reform is necessary if a dynamic private health sector offering low-cost, high quality and innovative treatment is to emerge.
A private healthcare sector offering low-cost treatment. That never happens in reality.
Did you actually bother to read their recommendations? I can't speak to the NHS, but the second one alone would save a fortune if implemented in the US when you consider how many doctor appointments are scheduled just to obtain prescriptions or to renew them:
> Perhaps most importantly, the compulsory licensing of medical professionals should be abolished. Anyone should be at liberty to practice as a doctor or nurse, with patients relying on brand names or competing voluntary associations to ensure quality. Ending current restrictive practices is essential to enable private firms to increase productivity in the sector.
> Restrictions on the types of treatment available ‘over the counter’ should be lifted to enable patients to obtain medication without recourse to registered doctors and regulated pharmacies.
> Burdensome drug licensing regulations should be rescinded. Instead, the testing of new drugs should be left to private firms and free markets. Reputable companies would have strong economic incentives to ensure the safety of their products, while there would also be far more freedom for experimentation and innovation by new market entrants, with huge potential benefits for patients.
> Prohibited recreational drugs, such as cannabis and opiates, should be legalised to allow the sick to benefit from their numerous medical applications.
> Some form of tax rebate could be introduced for patients choosing to opt out of NHS treatment (see, for example, this study from the Adam Smith Institute).
> Private firms should be free to bring in low-cost medical professionals from abroad and at liberty to determine rates of pay and working conditions through private contract.
> Legal reforms could enable patients to waive their right to clinical negligence claims.
> Planning controls and building regulations should be liberalised to enable the rapid development of new private healthcare facilities.
Most of those recommendations operate under the assumption that private firms can be trusted when unregulated and left to their own devices.
Believing this is to repeat past mistakes.
Private = for profit. Quality of service and public safety are never high on the list of priorities for such firms.
> Legal reforms could enable patients to waive their right to clinical negligence claims
So you can have cheap healthcare, but the quality hasn't been vetted and you can't sue for negligence? That's more or less directly taking us back to the "barbers with dirty hands" era of medicine.
Laser eye surgery is reasonably priced. People usually pay for it directly so there's a functioning market, unlike most of the rest of the health care industry.
A friend had it done, but I've no idea how much he paid.