OK here is a personal experience that highlights one of the very best things about the NHS.
Back in late 2007 I had a phone call from my Dad in the UK. My ten-year-old nephew had come off his mountain bike and his head hit a tree stump. He was taken to the local ER in Cornwall totally unconscious, coded a couple of times, it was bleak. Obviously, he had a serious brain injury and the local hospital was not equipped to help him. A helicopter transfer was arranged to Bristol which is one of the main brain trauma centers in the UK.
Once there he had emergency surgery. My dad told me there was four or five surgeons/doctors plus two anesthetists. My dad called me late that night to say the doctor had spoken with my sister and he had a 10-20% chance of making it through the night and if he did survive he would likely never be the same again. You can imagine what that feels like to a parent. My dad promised to keep me informed and we waited.
At about 5:00am US time the phone rang, and it was my dad in tears. Apparently, my nephew had been rushed down for a second surgery. After that he was in a coma for about a week and the prognosis was not good. The ward he was on was just serious head and brain injuries and it was all kids. It was intensive care on steroids, and very depressing.
After a few days the doctors said they were going to attempt to bring him out of the coma, which they did but he was not responsive. He needed help breathing/eating so technically he was on life support. A few days went by and the doctors encouraged them to speak to him, play music he likes etc and get as many of his friends as possible to send recorded messages.
At that point I booked a flight home. Partly in the hope I could support my family and at the back of my mind I knew I could be going to a funeral. Literally two hours before I got on my flight in Tampa my Mum called and said he had come out of the coma and he was speaking. He was still very sick and needed lots of treatment. By the time I got to the hospital he was already sat up in a wheelchair and greeted me with his normal cheeky smile.
He spent another three or four weeks in the brain center, so in total it was probably close to six weeks there. He also needed lots of follow up and therapy. Even to this day he still has memory issues and will be permanently disabled but the is living a very normal life.
What is amazing about the entire traumatic experience for my sister is throughout all of this…….. ………..the first ER, the helicopter transfer, the surgeries with multiple world renowned surgeons, the six weeks in a highly specialized ward, the after care and therapy….….through it all she was never asked to pay a penny, and never received a bill.
Now the chances are he would have received similar treatment in the US. However you would have been filling in paperwork, paying copays and dealing with bills for months....NO YEARS.