>In my experience "free" healthcare stops being a thing once you get above certain income level as the service provided by the public healthcare facilities is subpar (waiting lists huge, best specialists often work at private clinics, etc.) so you end up going private but you still end up paying a huge chunk of your income in tax.

This is true, but this is not that bad. The basic social security indeed stop being a thing once you earn enough. But if you earn that much, your work will provide you with an insurance that start at 50€/month to 250€/month that will cover A LOT of what you would have to pay in a private care clinic. You will still have to pay for the surgeon (especially if he is well known), but not the full cost.