Why don't we make a contribution to other types of healthcare? Why don't I pay to see my GP? Why don't I have to pay part of my surgery or smear test?
Come and live in Jersey and you'll be paying for most of those! Smear tests only became free last year (before that it was £50-something at the GP, or around £20 with a nurse at the central women's health clinic).
All dentists here are private, but there is free treatment for under-16s available through the hospital dental department (if you can wait long enough to get an appointment!) and they will provide orthodontic care too if your child qualifies. However, from what I've read on MN and in general, it seems UK private dentists charge far more than ours do here - which makes me wonder if having 'competition' because they're all private actually helps to reduce the cost! Someone on a thread this morning was quoting £800 for a root canal treatment - my dentist does them for around £500 (and he's excellent!). Both my boys have had braces over the years, which was a couple of thousand in total, but we paid it off interest-free as and when - no one-off large bill (does that happen with private dentists in the UK? Genuinely don't know!) Most dentists will do check-ups for children for free if they go with a parent who is paying for a check-up for themselves.
All GP appointments are charged (currently around £47 per appointment - and that's subsidised by the States of Jersey, it would be nearer £70 otherwise) unless you're in receipt of state aid (which runs differently to the UK mainland because we have our own powers of legislation) or on a reduced income, in which case you''ll be seen for free or a reduced charge. Children are either free or half price (all surgeries have their own system for charging for children). You can always get a same-day appointment though, usually with your own GP as well. Referrals on to the hospital are free of charge, as is A&E and any hospital treatment you need if you can't afford to go private (although many firms have health insurance as a 'perk').
Amazingly, it's not often you hear people complaining. Those that can pay do, and those who are genuinely struggling can get free or reduced-cost treatment one way or another.
I know it's anathema to people on the mainland, but paying for GPs and dentists isn't the huge evil it's made out to be. Be grateful you don't live in Guernsey - they generally must have private health insurance just to call an ambulance (or be charged for it). Even in Jersey calling an ambulance is free! 