I'm a big fan of the NHS in the UK and I live in Sweden now which also has national healthcare services that are heavily subsidised. There are some things that allow the system to be cheaper- for sure. As one hospital buying cotton balls might be more expensive per cotton ball than if you decide as a country to produce or procure millions of them at a time.

But RE salaries; Is it the USA who pays too much? or is it those other countries which pay too little?

The NHS in the UK and the Vardcentralen in Sweden are both having intense crisis' at the moment due to funding and are overstretched to say the least. In Sweden in particular Doctors are more keen to be contractors and hire themselves out to hospitals and offices, mostly due to the fact that Vardcentralen has limits for how much it will pay permanent staff Doctors. And since that's so ubiquitous the Vardcentralen cannot avoid paying these contracting rates, else it would not have Doctors for people.

So, are they greedy? or are they just getting what they should really get? Eitherway we end up paying the Doctors the full amount out of tax money-