A lot of Americans would rather pay that much too, but it's not the norm. HSA's where you're paying everything out of pocket until you hit your deductible is much more common, in my experience. That can be +$6000 per family member... It's basically a stop loss for a worst case scenario but most employees don't really have a choice unless they are working for an employer that's willing to pay the price for top shelf insurance plans, but a lot of them can't afford it either.
I am not a fan at all of our current healthcare system, it's poor to say the least. I am not a big fan of government health either but, my gf is from Europe and there are some clear benefits to it... Her family cringes when they hear of some of the costs for RX's and routine vists we have. I've always assumed they would have to die a slow death waiting to see a doctor but it's actually incredibly efficient where they live. Despite any shortcomings, most government healthcare recipients are pretty proud of their system from what I've witnessed.
Don't even get me started on healthcare with regard to worker's compensation - if you want to see how corrupt the american healthcare system is from an employer's POV.
There are some excellent systems in place in a few European countries.
The Nordic ones, amongst others.
I'm okay with the concept of public healthcare, but specifically in Ontario, it's an absolute disaster.
