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...
“The trouble is, whether you use the NHS or not, you are forced to pay for it via taxes and and National Insurance.”
That’s true but it can be quite good value even so. I’m self-employed and my combined National Insurance contributions and private medical insurance premiums are less than I paid just for comprehensive medical insurance when I lived in California a few years ago. Class 2 NIC’s for the self-employed are £2.65 ($4.14) a week and my private policy is £63 a month ($98), so it’s not too pricey even for both.
Having said all that I’m not a huge fan of the concept of goverment run healthcare and an opt-out for those of us who don’t need the NHS would be better.