Why should it take 10s of thousands of dollars to get 20 mins of general anesthesia (like it costed me, billed to my insurance)? And what does that cost have to do with "empathy" or "ego" of Americans?
If you make $50,000 per year in the US, which is the median full-time wage, your healthcare is almost entirely paid for by your job. The top 1/3 earns far more than that, they have extremely good coverage and extremely fast access to healthcare - along with easy access to the world's best medical technology and drugs - that is superior to comparable systems in Canada and the UK. The top 1/3 in the US do not suffer from rationed care, as other systems do. That top 1/3 has access to elite doctors, and elite hospitals. That top 1/3 is the wealthiest large group of people on earth, in basically every regard.
That top 1/3 has absolutely no interest in changing the status quo until it no longer works for them.
The elderly in the US also do not want the system changed. In France, Canada, the UK, and many other similar nations old people have highly rationed care access. Whereas in the US, old people drain an immense share of healthcare resources, far out of proportion to comparable nations. Old people in the US are a large voting block, and a rather powerful influence group (AARP etc) in terms of lobbying to keep what they have.
The bottom 1/5 gets free healthcare, and it's OK. In the US, it's primarily the next 20% above the bottom 20%, that suffers when it comes to the existing system (they make enough money from time to time to fall on and off free healthcare, they're trapped in healthcare hell frequently, and they make up a large percentage of the people that declare medical bankruptcies every year).
That's household wage, not full time wage.
I'm confused about the top 1/3 references. You're not comparing like with like at all.
Are you under the impression private insurance is inaccessible to the top 1/3 of Canada?
That can be expanded on with another point, the American dream. If the millionaires tell an American dreamer that something isn't a good idea the dreamer will consider it a roadblock to their own riches.
> What's stopping them accept this is the overlap of media, politicians, rich people (and maybe more, not my area of expertise) telling you that isn't true. The better way is to ignore them, to let money speak not money holders.
Or perhaps this is just not true. See adventured's comment.
And also, why should all Americans prepay in taxes to subsidize 10s of thousands of dollars for one 20 min anesthesia session? Why should they continue encourage these insane health care costs by pre paying for them? How is the country better off this way?