> […] As I lie unconscious under a bus, I am in no position to shop for the best provider of ambulance services at the most reasonable price. All personal volition is lost. Whatever happens next, it will not be a market transaction.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisladd/2017/03/07/there-is-n...
- NHS takes care of emergencies. There is no stress of payment in these situations.
- I have private medical insurance through work. Its done by salary sacrifice so I can choose to take the money instead.
- I can buy private medical insurance separately. Providers like Vitality[1] offer things like Apple Watches and discount gym membership. Private medical insurance is generally quite cheap (Vitality just quoted me £40/month) as emergency care is done by the NHS.
- You can use private healthcare to speed up things that might take a while or you might not get an NHS referral for.
Of course there's some problems with the NHS in terms of wait times, but I believe that's more of an issue of funding. In the UK I feel like I have choice that won't break the bank and I'm also not going to die because I can't pay.
[1] https://www.vitality.co.uk/rewards/partners/active-rewards/a...