Although I hate to tarnish American liberals' rose-tinted view of socialised medicine, I would suggest that the conversation in Britain would go more like this:
"I'm afraid you have incurable lung cancer."
"Can you give me any drugs to prolong my life?"
"I'm afraid not. The NHS can't afford them. Lung cancer patients, in particular, are a low priority."
"Can I pay the NHS to give me these drugs?"
"I'm afraid not. That would be illegal. You can obtain them if you have private health care. Do you have private health care?"
"No. I can't afford it. A large part of my lifetime income has been spent on tax and national insurance to provide me with cradle-to-grave health care. I guess I'll have to start making crystal meth."
"There isn't enough latent demand for crystal meth in the UK to make it worthwhile."
"Damn it."
"You're going to die. There's a 70 per cent chance you'll be dead within a year. Unlike the US, which has the highest cancer survival rates in the world, rates in Britain are very low, particularly for lung cancer."
"Aw, man."
"It serves you right for smoking."
"I don't smoke."
"Whatever."
