Britons protest private-sector healthcare

The British government is trying to bring more private companies into its nationalized healthcare system, but many of its citizens aren't happy about the change.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Virgin Care, an imprint of the Virgin company owned by billionaire Richard Branson, has been taking on a growing role providing health services to the National Health Service.

The NHS is "increasingly turning to private-sector contractors in a bid to save money and improve service," the Journal reported, but citizens are protesting Branson's involvement.

One NHS radiologist who helped organize protests outside of Branson's other businesses said healthcare is "uniquely unsuited to the commercial market," according to the newspaper.

Healthcare in the U.S. is almost entirely private, except for Medicare — which many congressional Republicans want to privatize. The NHS is alternately a whipping post and poster child for the U.S. 

Republicans argue it produces long waits and poor services, while Democrats note the the U.S. is less healthy than countries with far less expensive single-payer systems.