I'm a RN. I've been following the socialized medicine "issue", for going on 40 years. I, for one, do not need a system where the waiting list to get a joint replacement is 3 years (Canada- mother mortgaged her house to get "torn up" knee surgery for her 16 yr old daughter- research it!). As a matter of fact, the Canadian Supreme court found parts of the socialized medicine laws "unconstitutional", 4-5 years ago. They said the right to health care does NOT mean the right to be on a 3 yr waiting list. Doctors are in such short supply in parts of Canada, they hold LOTTERIES for MD appts. 20 years ago, over half the MRI's & CAT scans in Buffalo, NY were performed on "cash paying" Canadians- For some REALLY strange reason, people did not want to wait 6 months to have these tests done in Canada, to find out if the CANCER had spread, or if they had something NASTY like cancer to begin with. Speaking of cancer, how about that wait period for bladder cancer treatment: 1'st you wait to see family MD, then wait to see specialist, then wait to get tests done, see specialist again to find out results, and then, when they have diagnosed YOU with bladder cancer, you get to wait 12 weeks before treatment- Guess what? Their mortality rate increased by 20%, when the wait increased from 8 wks, to 12 wks. Oh, And I just love the wait period, to have implantable defibrillator surgery done-> that's an 8 week wait, at home, on your own. You might DIE, but that shortens the list for the rest of the people waiting. Oh, check out the story of the 60-something woman, from Churchill, Canada who had a broken hip. Her husband spent $24,000 for air medical transport to a Canadian hospital. She lay on a gurney, in the ER for 3 days+. After her husband talked with a newspaperman, & her plight was "aired", they finally were able to take her to surgery for a hip repair..... NHS in UK is "peachy keen"- They told a 61 yr old woman (still working!), that she was too OLD for a 5,000 pound (USA about $7,000) out-patient heart surgery, that could save her life. After a whole bunch of news coverage, they changed their "minds". Speaking of hearts & heart disease, forget getting admitted to a Coronary Care Unit, in the UK, if you're "too old"- AGE limit depends on how crowded they are, and how old or young YOUR competition for the CCU bed is at that particular time. BUT, you can rule out CCU if you're over 60, for sure; frequently, if you're over 50! My "favorite" info (from PBS) is the finite number of dialysis "slots" that are available. Whatever NHS has set as their "top number", once it is reached, for someone NEW to go on dialysis, someone else has to come off, which means they DIE! And, when you have a genius like Stephen Hawking, He's not taken care of by NHS- Universities & companies "bid" to cover his medical costs, so they can have access to his genius. I guess if you're not a genius, you're out of luck. ....That Italy is in the top 20 is amazing to me. My husband & I visited for 3-4 days, June 2008, Venice region. The air quality SUCKED- it made LA air look good, & I've never been a fan of LA. We both came back to the "states", with bronchitis. Expensive accommodations, expensive food, expensive drinks ( there is no such thing as "ice water w/lemon"; mixed drinks cost: USA number, like 5.95 +1, but in euros. When we bought our euros, the exchange rate was 1 euro= $1.68.) ... What is noticeable in about half the countries listed, is that a good portion of their income is from tourist money. Tourism brings in money, & you don't have to provide education, welfare, or medical care (usually), to the "visitors". Maybe we should market "Visit the USA".