Americans regard the NHS as a total disaster
I don’t think that is true at all. I am resident in both UK and US and most doctors I have visited in the US have trained or worked in London at some point and are very complimentary about the NHS and how efficient it is. Most openly state that the US is very inefficient but your experience will be a million times nicer which is definitely my experience. The level of care actual medical competency between the two countries is comparable, the only thing in my view better in the USA is preventative care – having an annual physical for starters – but something that would bankrupt the NHS.
What is definitely common is the amount of BS that is spouted both in the US media about the NHS and the UK media about US hospitals. Pretty much both state that the other have people queuing outside and dying on hospital beds. It is not true. Like all things, don’t believe the BS in the media.
the British public absolutely adore the NHS as it is.
And that there is the big problem. No one likes change, people are scared of change. People also are belligerent when it comes to compromise. But like all big corporations, no matter what the industry, if they do not evolve and change to the changing environment around them they disappear. Simply sitting back with arms folded stating we like it as it is thanks and we won’t change simply is not an option, otherwise the beloved NHS (which we all love by the way) will disappear and the alternative will be something far worse by most accounts.