Thanks Health-e. The need for NHI requires the kind of brilliant exposition as Di McIntyre's analysis provides here. This helps get beyond the neoliberal argument that focusses on preventing pain to the amorphous taxpayer. Most importantly, McIntyre begins to show how NHI could maximise benefits for society as a whole (e.g. by reducing the share of health care spending among poor people's household expenses). A question that I think many people would like to see addressed: How can we build an NHI while similtaneously taking seriously the need to improve the pay and working conditions of health care workers at all levels of the health care system - whether these workers be cleaners, auxiliary nurses or high-flying specialists? I think we'll be doing the quest for NHI a disservice if we fail to persuade government that good salaries and working conditions could absolutely help in attracting good medical personnel from the private to the state sector.