Years ago I was working at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and a doctor from one of the Health Maintenance Organisations in America was visiting to get ideas. After he a few days he decided it was basically chalk and cheese. The American Hospitals are half empty and doing their best to get people in; NHS Hospitals are bursting at the seams and doing their best to get people out. The purpose of providing health care in America is to make a profit; the purpose of the NHS is to provide health care. Sure, it sounds attractive to take the best from both systems - but the NHS, despite its problems, and in particular its poor funding, is generally regarded as one of the best systems there is.

No private medical insurance for me.