Excellent post, John.

Dealing with insurance companies isn't easy to begin with, but add government bureaucracy on top of that and customer service would become a nightmare.

For example, I had to make three separate trips to the local Clerk of Court's office just to get a marriage license (not to mention deal with the oh-so-helpful employees). And that's something simple and routine they dealt with on a day-to-day. I can't imagine if it was something as complex as an insurance bill.

At least with private insurance companies, there is some incentive to serve the customer. They certainly don't do a great job (or even a good job) in this department, but it's a lot better than a government office would be.

Dan, our neighbors to the north probably have the best government-run health care system in the world. But even in Canada, patients may have to wait months - or even years - for non-emergency surgery.

Obviously, it's a trade-off. Health care certainly is more expensive here than in countries with government-run systems. But it's also more readily available and the quality is first-rate.

Heck, even in the mid-sized market I live in (Greensboro/Winston-Salem, N.C.), we've got a world-class research hospital (Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center), three other large community hospitals and doctors and surgeons of every imaginable specialty.

The issues with our current system in the US aren't just, "Oh the insurance company won't cover this." or "Yikes, my premium is high." Once you do have insurance and it WILL cover something many plans require you to pay a set deductible each year before they start covering those costs (sometime only a percentage of the costs at that). 

When I worked for a health insurance copmany I saw policies that cost several hundred dollars a month with a deductible of $5,000 a year (per person).  So you have a family that's paying their premium and then paying for the first $5,000 of their healthcare expenses.  How many average families can afford that? At the same time though, most families (esp. thanks to our newish bankruptcy laws) can't afford not to have it.

It boils down to the fact that we get our Health Coverage in the US from companies who's (for the most part, not for profit companies are disappearing quickly) main responsibility is a return on the investment of thier shareholders, not providing quality patient centered health care.

Wanna solve any and all health care problems?

Put doctors Perry Cox and Gregory House in charge.

OK...so, the customer service angle might suffer, but you'd get quick, efficient, and excellent medical care.

Or just send Sarah Chalke to my house for a housecall.  Either way, I'm good.

Scott Richards and John Bodin, so while almost all other major industrialized democracies can manage to provide a universal health care system of some kind, the mighty US couldn't afford to or is to inept to run one?

Apples and oranges Dan.  Other countries never had insurance companies like we have in the US.  Healthcare has pretty much always been something the government has paid for in modern times.