A key paragraph from the article which better explains the finances behind this policy:

"The health care plan ... would offer 100 million families up ... $7,860, of coverage each year. That sum, while small by Western standards, would be enough to cover the equivalent of five heart surgeries in India."

It's much easier to provide universal healthcare, when medical costs are low. Finding ways to bring down costs in the US, would go a long way towards improving the healthcare situation here.