It's even worse when you consider one of the reasons why healthcare costs are so high in the US - people avoid getting early treatment because it costs so much.

It's even worse when you consider one of the reasons why healthcare costs are so high in the US - people avoid getting early treatment because it costs so much. A vicous cycle. Whereas socialised healthcare can prevent a lot of illnesses in their early stages at a far lower cost, because people don't need to worry about going bankrupt after a doctors visit. And that's just looking at the direct cost to the patient, completely ignoring the costs to society and the economy. Having to treat severely ill patients in late-stage scenarios where the patient is now out of work for months on end. I still recall one story I heard during the Obamacare debate about a young father who died from a gum infection. His insurance had lapsed (unemployed) and he only had enough cash to pay for either painkillers or antibiotics, not both. He made the wrong choice unfortunately. This scenario does not exist where I'm from. Hell, I'm happy to pay for other people to get this kind of care. It still costs me less than the US system! NB: Having personally had a serious abcess that needed root canal in the past (was abroad so couldn't get immediate treatment), I can't honestly blame him for taking the painkillers, it is astonishingly painful.