I would agree that US has socialized medicine but not because of the ER, but because most of the Healthcare spending is now under 3 government programs. Medica

I would agree that US has socialized medicine but not because of the ER, but because most of the Healthcare spending is now under 3 government programs. Medicare, Medicade, and VA. ER is often a convenient target for explaining the high cost of care but while a factor is not the primary factor. Instead the high cost of normal care is down to regulations, poor government reimbursement rate under the 2 big programs, and our linking health insurance to be "comprehensive prepaid health plans" not insurance in the sense of any other insurance product. >>>But is that truely a healthcare metric, or is that more a quality of life metric? I would say it is both. This is another area where I disagree with the healthcare field in as too often healthcare does not factor in quality of life in to their choices. I think quality of life is critical >>>For lower wait times, are you conflating elective surgery with non-elective? Please show me the USA vs other countries statistics that you are using broken out by elective and non-elective. I guess then we would have to define what you consider "elective" as many nations with Single Payer health system have broaden that term to include any surgery that is not immediate life saving care. So something like a hip surgery is "elective" to them, which I do not consider to be elective if you have a broken hip and are in pain all the time. In some nations however it is perfectly acceptable for them to live the rest of their life in a lower mobility state, using pain management drugs to suffer until their death. i find that morally abhorrent That said at the end of the day even if government run care was grand, wonder, the best thing ever i would still oppose it. healthcare is not a proper role of government. I do not want a paternalistic government to rule over me like I was a subject of the government.