Are all UK citizens entitled to free healthcare from the NHS?

We are entitled to completely free treatment at the moment, with the exception, as someone pointed out of dental care. This was privatized some time ago.

I have been successfully treated for cancer by the NHS at no cost , by experts in the field and with no reference to insurance companies which I know is the system in the States.

Unfortunately the current right wing government is depriving the NHS of money, forcing top down, costly re-organisation and is privatizing those parts of the NHS which businesses can make money on. So ask this question again in 5 years and the answer will be no.

All persons normally resident in the UK, and those working for more than 12 months or studying here for more than six months are entitled to free health care. So too are Diplomatic Staff; members of NATO Armed Forces; UK War pensioners; refugees and asylum seekers; children in care; prisoners; missionaries of a UK based mission; victims of trafficking.

Spouses, Civil Partners and dependent children under 16 are also covered.

All insurance schemes are limited, private as well as public. There will be treatments which they will not fund, unless you are prepared to pay premiums a long way beyond the means of most people. Most will not pay for experimental treatments or ones with a low chance of success. My cousin had this problem with the private insurance system in Australia, and only got treated on research funds. Renewing your private insurance after a major health crisis can be difficult and in the USA people have been laid off because their employer cannot afford the premiums where medical insurance is part of the salary package.

The NHS is certainly not as good as we would like it to be. It suffers from the universal British malaise of simply drifting along without much vision or effective management. An example, the Dutch came to Britain to learn how to deal with MRSA, learned the lessons, applied them and have eliminated it from their hospitals. We knew what to do, applied it half-heartedly, and allowed the bug to spread across almost the entire NHS. It is a very British story.

It's not free, it has to be paid for, through National Health Insurance contributions and income tax. All citizens and most inhabitants of the UK are entitled to access the NHS, currently whether they have contributed financially to its running or not, but that may change soon.

I know that all British citizens are entitled to free health care on the NHS. I'm not sure about foreign settlers though. But I think they are also.

This is with an exception that if you're working then you have to pay for all dental treatment & prescriptions by your doctor unless you have certain underlying medical issues then prescriptions are free also.

It's only free at the point of need. That means when you need it you don't have to pay. However the NHS is not free, we pay for it with our National Insurance contributions - something many people conveniently forget. Prescriptions are not free, neither are dental treatments although the NHS pays a proportion of that.

Yes but it doesn't include any cosmetic work or dentistry and you have to be a resident, you can't live abroad and use the NHS

Even conservatives in UK support NHS. It would be political suicide not to.

In practice if a treatment is considered to expensive you don't get it. In my case I was started on a course of treatment that was effective for me but not 95% of patients apparently so NICE withdrew it.

This means I had to go private or claim disability for the rest of my life. Thankfully BUPA (private health care) did a very reasonable deal with me and now I'm OK.

In spite of the affection the NHS is held in by most people I have found it very second class.

To be honest I would rather get sick in almost any other developed country.

YES.