So now my taxes paid for the garbage public healthcare system that I didn’t want, and then I had to pay for the private insurance.
Unfortunately most people aren’t that fortunate to be able to easily justify spending extra £300 a month on health insurance so they just cope with the NHS.
Something a little similar happens in the US: as a visitor you can get travel insurance including private medical care for much less than regular private insurance, because the insurance company isn't on the hook for long-term problems, just for a medevac back to your home country.
It’d be NHS if the non-urgent treatment would be immediately available from them (which is basically never), otherwise I’d be sent to a private hospital.
> Or maybe the existence of NHS puts healthcare costs much less than that in the US.
This probably helps, but the US healthcare costs are just fucked for no good reason. I like to look at South Korea as an example of reasonable costs in a healthcare system that’s 100% private (the government just picks up the tab afterwards).
Amen to that.
> I like to look at South Korea as an example of reasonable costs in a healthcare system that’s 100% private (the government just picks up the tab afterwards).
From Britain you don't have to look that far abroad for this: Germany would suffice, AIUI, or maybe even just across the Channel to France. (But, hey, congrats on leaving the club of civilised nations.)