The funny thing is, I so seldom have had to resort to either drugs or conventional medical treatment over the years that it's hardly made a difference to me, financially speaking, whether or not my country provides free medicare. My father, however, was quite ill for the last 6 months of his life with liver disease, and required extensive hospitalization. In Canada, that ended up costing us virtually nothing (and they were extremely helpful and efficient in every respect, providing assistance at home as well as at the hospital). In the USA that same situation would have bankrupted this family....and my father would still be dead now anyway.

And there is the difference.