I agree that a national healthcare service should seem like a right to me. I love the idea of it anyway. We are born and forced to pay into a society after all. The least it can do is take care of our health- so that we are able to work for it.
I love the idea of the NHS in the UK but, the reality is that it's struggling terribly. It's very hit and miss regarding how you are treated.
I'm not sure how taxes work in the US. We pay National Insurance contributions on top of Income Tax and Council Tax in the UK- to fund our social healthcare and services. I guess in the US, individuals are expected to pay into independent insurance policies. I'm not sure how the rates compare though.
For example, someone on £20k ($26,600) a year in the UK will be expected to pay nearly £560 ($740) a year National Insurance- on top of £1,486 ($1,977) Income Tax. Plus, Council Tax and obviously VAT on all their purchases. We can be clobbered with Inheritance Tax and Stamp Duty Tax in certain circumstances too.
The National Insurance we pay is regardless of whether we use any of the services or not. There again- people aren't generally refused health care if they haven't paid in.
I think that is something to consider- is 'free' actually free? Or, are we paying more in taxes in order to have those 'services'. Google seems to think for example that the US is more lenient with taxes than the UK. Or, was anyway- the figures it pulled up are years old:
'According to 2022 figures from the OECD, the US tax burden was 27.7% of GDP, significantly lower than the UK's 35.3% in 2023. The OECD found that US taxpayers had the lowest tax burden among G7 countries.'
So- in effect- those of us that are working- are in fact paying for what we get. It isn't strictly speaking: 'free'.
It means we do get a whole load of free loaders no doubt too- so- that's the flip side of the coin. Would you be happy paing £1000's into a big pot of money and having next to no say how that money is allocated? So- by chance- you may pay for your neighbours treatment but, they haven't funded the drug research needed for your Mum.
This is a major contention when it comes to immigration in the UK. It seems obvious that people who have generations upon generations who have paid into the system get pissed off when their dear granny is lefy to rot while those newly arrived here get treatment. So- it's not all sun and roses with 'free' healthcare. It has its own issues- it actually can contribute to racial tensions for instance.