You lost me in the 1st paragraph when you described the UK as a single payer system. It isn’t. The UK natioanized the healthcare system, whereas under single payer it is the insurance system (the payer) that is state run. I’m an American living in Canada. Hospitals and clinics are not state owned here as they are under the NHS — which the Tories have been starving of funds for years. Here hospitals are generally non-profits and doctors are in private practice. However, the province acts as the sole health insurer for basic medical coverage.