It seems to me that the assumption that 2-tier would be worse for the average non-paying person is incorrect and based on our fundamental mistrust of how services are managed.
Could we use this as an opportunity to BOTH improve service AND trust ?
And if that doesn't happen, abandon the project ?
I lived in France and as socialist as it was, they had gold-plated things for the wealthy. And the 'common person' had way better services than we have as I recall.
It seems to me that our prejudices are holding us back. Maybe a pilot project would help this.