Shroud-waving is a British newspaper and politics word. It is what people — often doctors, union voices, or politicians — do when they talk loudly about how bad care is in Britain's National Health Service, so the government will put more money in. A shroud is the cloth you wrap a dead body in. The picture is ugly on purpose: someone is “waving” that cloth, as if to say people will die if you do not pay. Though actually, the people who use this word are usually criticising the tactic, not cheering it. To call something shroud-waving is to say the speaker is using fear of death to win a budget fight. It is informal, a bit sharp, and very tied to UK health politics. You will hardly hear it about Taiwan's 健保, even when the argument is similar. It is built like flag-waving: showing a strong symbol to stir feeling. A shroud-waver is the person who does it.