>>>When I have an immediate need - like a bad cold- I go to one of the many walk-in places around here that are staffed by salaried nurse practitioners. I'm in and out in no time.
>
>Gotta say it: in most of the dreadful socialized healthcare nations out there that pay as little as half as much as the US per capita for healthcare, you get to see a physician with your bad cold.
>
>You might not get a same day appointment if everybody else also has a cold, so you can go to a walk in place and be seen same day, again by a physician.
>
>So you need to ask why you are paying so much more and not getting commensurately better service.

That's the point. I'm getting better service than I would if I went to a traditional MD. My cold goes away and I don't have to wait for hours to see someone.
What's so bad about that?
If it's better is another country.. great. I live in Hamilton, NJ