“I’ve always thought the British tolerate and defend their substandard medical care because they have no experience with any other kind.”
A common misconception amongst American users of this forum. In the UK we have three choices for healthcare:
1)Use the NHS.
2)Take out private medical insurance if your employer doesn’t include it with your job - most do as soon as you get to lower management or above.
3)Put your hand in your pocket and pay for it yourself.
If you don’t want to use the NHS, no-one is going to force you. I’ve never used it because my parents always had private insurance with their job that covered the whole family and I’ve always done the same.
Let me ask you, do Britons who can do otherwise opt to use NHS?
When I had a medical issue in England, I don't recall ever being offered a choice.
The trouble is, whether you use the NHS or not, you are forced to pay for it via taxes and and National Insurance. There is no option to ‘opt out’ so at best, you are paying for two different schemes.
Having said that, my experience of the NHS has generally been positive, and one could point out many horror stories from the American healthcare system...