“Why on earth would you want to choose a doctor?”

Trying to explain the American health insurance system to friends and family in the UK is often futile.

They wince when you talk of friends who pay $11,000 a year for health insurance for themselves and their three kids. And to many Americans, $11,000 a year for a family health insurance plan is cheap.

Brits find it hard to believe that many Americans stay in a job they hate for 20 or 30 years mainly because it provides health insurance for them and their families.

That strikes Brits as a kind of serfdom in The Land of The Free.

Where Americans see “choice” in their private health insurance plans, Brits see wasted time and confusion. Where Americans say “I get to choose my doctor,” Brits ask “why on earth would you want to choose a doctor?” Where Americans talk about “out-of-pocket” and “deductibles” and “co-pays”, Brits say “what?” and get all of the above confused.