In Japan I have had mixed experiences:
Good:
* It's relatively cheap. Apprently the government sets prices. The government offers medical insurence. It costs based on previous year's income. i've paid as little as $15 a month and as high as $300. I don't know the range. It only covers 70%. My employeers have provided insurance that covered more.
* Fast. There are no appointments or a least I've never made one. Just walk in, usually no more than a 20 minute wait. Did have one long wait 1998.
* Some pretty good tech. Had back problems once. Got an MRI immediately (Japan has/had ?x more MRI machines than USA). Last week had an unusual pain in neck, went in, got immediate endoscope pictures inside neck.
Note that in Japan, unlike the USA, hospitals are a place you can just walk in for a cold. (you can also go to small clinics and private doctors). The advantage of going to a hospital is they have more specialists and equipmnent. The disadvantage is sometimes longer waits and probably not as close. I only bring that up as a contrast to USA where a hospital is someplace you don't go unless it's an emergency or surgery or something else really serious.
Bad:
* Bar to be a doctor much lower. Have had several very quack doctor expeiences in Japan. Have not yet had a quack doctor experience in USA
* Unclean. Have been to several facilities that seemed unclean to me. Machines that looked like people had coughed on them for years and had never been cleaned. Not all places but enough the experience has stuck out. No idea what that's about but just surprised since my experience in the USA was that medical services are or at least appear spotless.
Unknown:
* Nurses require no training (or so I was told by a nurse). You just go apply for job like a fast food job. Is that better (lower cost) or worse (less training).