Yes. I do assume that. You are right, it's faulty....but not for the reason you think. When it comes to the need for medical goods (drugs, equipment usage, etc.), do you think that the cost (in real dollars per patient) for the "current standard of care" has gone DOWN over the last 20 years? FFS, it's gone up. Yes, that's in part due to developments in medical science (yay science!), but still....UP, not down.
To MAXIMIZE utility? Of course not. No system - public or private - functions at 100% efficiency. BUT....the level of inefficiency more often than not stays constant. So, if NHS, FedEx, or AT&T were wasting 15% of their budget last year, they're most likely wasting a similar percentage this year. This is the good old "fraud, waste, and abuse" straw man. And the straw-est thing about it is that it is a creature solely of public enterprises. I too have been in the bellies of MULTIPLE beasts, public and private. I have found two things to be true, universally: 1) every enterprise has waste and inefficiency, and 2) it's at a lot lower rate than people think it is.
It does. And your employer does. Signed, an employer who has given our employees solid raises every year for decades. That is the case because as inflationary pressures go up, and the number of people to provide for goes up, SO DOES the revenue stream (both in terms of rate per person, and the number of persons contributing). We are a law firm. Perhaps we collected $200 per hour per attorney, with a total of 15 attorneys, 30 years ago. Today, we collect $400 per hour per attorney, with a total of 30 attorneys. So, YES, every employee has gotten raises over those years. Just like every budget, for functionally EVERYTHING, goes up year over year.
That's not unique to healthcare or NHS. It's how money and economies work.