The problem is that it actually doesn't work and never worked. The public option always ends up being crappy. Soviet Union/etc is an obvious example (the public

The problem is that it actually doesn't work and never worked. The public option always ends up being crappy. Soviet Union/etc is an obvious example (the public system is still there after it collapsed, but on top of it there's now a private system that is far superior for general care, at least); however I've also lived in Canada (~2008-10) and it took me months to find a GP that takes patients and doesn't have garbage reviews, and then wait time for a non-urgent procedure was like 6 months. OTOH dental care in Canada is private and (as far as I can tell) no different than in the US. If a similar private system for regular care existed, I'd escape there in an instant... the only way to ensure it doesn't happen is to effectively prevent the private system from functioning, at least at scale - like they do in Canada; and force everyone to use the crappier system. I personally view the equal sharing of miseries as one of the most morally repugnant things in the world.