There are a few unmistakable trademarks of a Briton; an undeniable love of tea, an incessant need to discuss the weather, and a unifying love of the Queen. However, the most important hallmark of the British is perhaps the incessant, sometimes incognizant, pride in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service.The NHS was founded in 1948, and has grown to be the world’s largest, and most comprehensive publicly funded health service (NHS, 2015). Founded on the egalitarian principle that wealth should not be a consideration in proper health care, the NHS has long held an important position as a coveted model for universal health care. Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health in 1945, stated in a speech to the Royal Medico-Psychological Association that, “I am satisfied we can do it, and that before another year is over we shall be able to lay before the people of Great Britain a structure of medical and hospital services which will make Great Britain the envy of all other nations in the world” (Journal of Mental Science, 1946). Since this statement, “envy of the world” has become the tagline for the NHS, favoured by healthcare practitioners and politicians alike. “Envy of the world”, however, is more of an antiquity than a modern representation of the NHS. As of 2018, tabloids run with headlines declaring the NHS in crisis, as well as stating the inefficiency, underfunding, and inevitable privatisation of the 70 year old institution. With a net deficit of £1.851 billion in 2016 (NHS Confederation, 2017), the future of maintaining this socialist institution amidst competing free-market health service ideologies is precarious. However, after analysing the importance of the NHS, the economic theories on health care and the market, as well as contrasting international health care structures, it is evident that the most advantageous way forward for the British people is to reinvigorate the Keynesian foundation of the National Health Service and ensure its survival.
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