>>>Maybe in UK I don't know. It is much bigger country then CY. Here you might wait couple of hours to see doctor, but not ages.
>>>However, point I was trying to make was on availability of healt care rather then state of affairs .
>>
>>>You CAN get it without paying if you are poor, disabled, retired-as-poor etc This matter a lot to some people, and it is imho society responsability to fetch for it.
>>>
>>
>>You can get that here. Go to any county hospital and they'll take you. You may have to wait a few hours but they'll treat you....
>
> I might be wrong then. So where is that people have to pay huge medical bills and loose homes over it ??

You get the medical care, but eventually you will have to pay for it. If you are a citizen (basically if you have a drivers license and/or social security # so they can track you) and not below the poverty line, they will eventually forward your bills to a collection agency to attempt to recover the costs for the treatment. Non-payment will go against your credit rating. That goes for the 10% or 20% leftover that sometimes has to be paid even with medical insurance. Not all insurance plans pay 100%. Sometimes they pay 100% for some treatments but not others. Sometimes you receive a higher percentage of coverage if the services (dr, labs, facility) are part of the insurance companies 'network' (they agree to specific amounts for each service) and have to pay a percentage if the services are 'out of network.' (no agreement with the insurance agency) One of the problems with stolen identity is that when illegal immigrants (or citizens who steal identities as well) use someone else's information, those bills go to the real individual. It is pretty tough to prove you didn't receive those services when everything on file states you did.

Then there are 'catastrophic events.' If you receive 100,000 in medical service but your insurance only pays 70% or doesn't cover some of the treatment, those bills can destroy you economically.