You're missing the crucial fact that you pay half and your employer pays the other half! From an employee point of view it's 8.4% for health insurance and 9.35%

You're missing the crucial fact that you pay half and your employer pays the other half! From an employee point of view it's 8.4% for health insurance and 9.35% for pension (how much are you contributing to your 401k?). Public health insurance also covers your spouse and children for free, along with any pre-existing medical conditions. Having to cover my wife's minor pre-existing condition basically ruled out ever living in the USA for us.