@andoman I'm sorry to alarm you. But I had three elderly aunts in AUSTRALIA who were having to wait long periods for simple procedures in their healthcare system. All three were able to obtain private health insurance, so managed to get what they needed and all three lived into their 90s. I see the effects of gov't healthcare with my hubs, who is 79 and enrolled in USA Veterans Admin. Healthcare. Just too much bureaucracy and impersonal treatment. Plus, there is no "competition" if we get to the point of total gov't healthcare. Right now, we have ACA (Obama's "affordable care act") which is twice as expensive as our former system; but we also have privately owned doctor offices. The hospitals must organize to fit with ACA, so all the medical procedures have increased twofold. That is why our healthcare costs are so high. No competition in the hospital setting. Some Doc.offices have their own surgery theaters, which is great, but not available to everybody. Sorry. Gov't can't provide everything unless they tax the population into poverty (witness: Cuba, Russia, et c.)