Does it matter if nobody can afford it?
There's absolutely no way you can have a medical system without insurance (either govt underwritten or private corporation underwritten) beyond something trivial like a village herbalist.
The only question is who does the underwriting and even more importantly how are the premiums collected (taxes, that is proportional to income, or flat fees).
I wouldn't wish either you or your partner to be told to pound sand upon experiencing an health related issue. To know that something can be treated, but to be told GTFO. I wished to have a discussion about the matter, but you are obviously not ready for this to happen.
"where a family member was told"
That's second-hand. Accusing me of bad faith is a bit off-base.