As someone who has lived in the UK with an amazing free healthcare system and now Australia who has a more complex model - but basically still universal free he

As someone who has lived in the UK with an amazing free healthcare system and now Australia who has a more complex model - but basically still universal free healthcare for the most part - I can safely say I took the NHS for granted in the UK. Australia is pretty good - most stuff will get fixed free, and they are at least transparent about where your tax goes (We have a Medicare Levy that is paid as a specific % of income, and a Medicare Levy Surcharge if you earn above a certain amount and don't take out private medical care). Private Healthcare is offered as a perk to employees, not as an expected part of the package. However - the article header sums this up - "Could Eliminate the 600B Private Insurance Industry" - Money talks and if you think for a second the super rich people running these companies give a shit over your welfare vs their money you are sorely mistaken. This would always fall at the first hurdle - and if by some magic measure something passed (Obamacare for example) - the next person would just repeal it.