Reply #138: we HAVE universal single payer health care here

[BelgianMadCow]

NO ONE has a medical bankruptcy because we have a "maximum bill" - anything costing more will be paid by the government.

Everybody is covered. Everybody pays too, through progressive taxes that pay for all of our govt.

It's not like everything is free - there are deductibles. But they are relatively small - like a couple euro for a doctors visit.

If you have a serious condition, you will experience a financial setback alright. But you WILL be covered and you won't go broke.

And you will receive exactly the same treatment as anyone else - no two systems.

Private insurance does exist and is offered by employers - to make you totally immune to the mentioned setbacks, and allow for even better care, like including dental all the way, getting a single room, covering those deductibles.
But most people buy a cheap (150 euro for a family of three per year) extra policy from the government, which insulates you for the better part of the big risks.

This thread makes me go bananas. Will you please as some others have mentioned look at how other civilized countries do it?

The health care I mentioned is costing about 550 Billion (on edit : dollar, that is) if you transpose it to the US (assuming all things being equal, and medically speaking we shouldn't be that far apart).

So that is a bit over the Defense/War budget.