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An importing part of the Australian system, is that for people and families earning over a certain threshold ($80k for singles, $160k I believe for families) you have the option to either

* pay for private health insurance, or

* pay an additional 2% surcharge/tax on your income

This is to encourage people who can afford it to purchase private health insurance, to lessen the load on the publicly funded system where possible.

Even an economic nightmare like Argentina manages to run on the same idea (I grew up there.) The level of complexity and inane amount of paperwork you have to do in the US to get the simplest care is still baffling to me. I get it that it's the inefficiencies that make this system profitable to some, and that's why you might get the "best doctors in the world", but it could definitely use some modernization.

All the money involved means that the companies and their lobbyists have too much at stake and have to mobilise against change. Huge shame when it impacts hundreds of millions.

Exactly what I'm talking about