Sorry guys I dont buy those figures at all...not for one second. My family is very good friends with one of the top cancer surgeons in Britain, so ill check that out with him. Needless to say he hasn't bitched and moaned about death rates one bit, which believe you me he would have if the disparity was that large.
My own ten cents, The British system is the best in the world and far far better than the US system (which i have also experienced), you have genuine choice. You have public and private healthcare, which means if you pay more you get more. Yet if you cant pay you're still assured healthcare (even if the waiting time can sometimes be long...but times are coming down). I use both systems in Britain, depending on what I need, and how urgently it needs to get done, Im sorry but the idea of having to pay for private healthcare in the USA just to go to some crappy general hospital makes me kind of angry, you're not getting value for money, and on top of that is the underlying assumption that healthcare is not a given right, which it most certainly is. The fact that in the USA I have to call my frikkin insurance company before I go to the doctor or the hospital, to check if they will cover something, for me is verging on barbaric, in britain if you're hurt you just go to the damn hospital, no second worries, if's or buts. Like i said before, depending on the prognosis or if i feel i want the problem sorted out immediately then I'll go to a private hospital, where it will be sorted out immediately, and I get the choice of what kind of service I want.
No american will ever convince me, not in a million years that their system is better, from my experience it is inconvenient and overly expensive for a very general and average quality of service that you receive for free in Britain. Like i said before I feel fundamentally uncomfortable with the american attitude which seems to say you have to pay for health care to receive it, I dont believe thats where we should be going.