No, its repeated again and again and again that Walter is doing it for pride, to the extent that it gets a little annoying once or twice. Walter has several opp

No, its repeated again and again and again that Walter is doing it for pride, to the extent that it gets a little annoying once or twice. Walter has several opportunities to work away with several millions and no loose ends, even after the cancer is in remission, but goes to great trouble to stay in the game. Also, both Walter and Hank's successful healing hinges on them getting the absolute top end of treatment. These don't magically become available under universal coverage. Hank is a career federal employee and must be assumed to have good insurance, but the plot explicitly places his needs outside its capabilities. Universal health care makes sure that you don't get ruined by health expenses and that you can get patched up pretty good in the vast majority of cases. This is a good thing. But it's not a panacea that makes the top-end care that Walter and Hank receives available to the masses.