I feel the seiss system really nails it. Health insurance is mandatory. If you can't afford even the basic level, the government pays for it. The basic level itself covers basically everything from emergency care, hospital stays and gp. The extras you can pay for are things like single rooms in hospitals or access to private clinics. Compared to the local salaries, the basic package is quite cheap - doubly so compared to the UK where National Insurance extracts a very hefty portion of your paycheck and this gets you the dire waiting times of nhs...
Maybe because the Swiss didn't let the magical hand of privatization solve it? The healthcare providers might be private but the laws and regulations and conditions under which they are run are very strict and very detailed. Perfect? Of course not, I could give examples heaps. But better that many? Very yes.
Now, is there here anybody from Spain to comment on their system? I've heard good stuff about it.
National insurance contributions have nothing to do with the NHS.
NI contributions determine your state pension (but because the money from NI just goes to treasury, NI is really just income tax with different name)
