>And why is that? This is something about which Andy and I are in total agreement. We also have had the experience of living in a >socialist country with nationalized medicine. Have you? Or are you speaking from ignorance here?

How bad was /is the nationalized medicine in UK? I assume they have two tiers of hospitals:public and private, and if you have private insurance you benefit a better care , right?

I had to go back to Romania for few weeks since a member of my family was quite ill and I could see how bad (extremely) the nationalized care could be, but there was the option of private hospital which was as good as any good hospital in US.

I'm not republican or democrat but I think something must be done for the uninsured people of this country. There is no safety net for them and God forbid of a critical illness.