[DanBC]

There's no reason they have to be exclusive. The UK has dual public / private provision of healthcare.

(Personally, I would never use private health care in the UK. I know people who have.)

[anarchotroll]

If you can opt out of public helthcare, then it is fine. But if you can opt out, I wouldn't call it "public" anymore.

If you can't opt out, then choosing private basically means paying for both.