Here's a piece from The Times about the French way of doing this, which seems to work pretty well - Neither of the Above

France has a system of universal healthcare financed by compulsory national insurance. Premiums are charged as a percentage of income and paid to insurers that are non-government, non-profit agencies. The French have a choice of doctor whose fee they usually pay and then claim back 75-80 per cent of the cost. The poor are exempt from payment. All patients, whether exempt from co-payments or not, may go directly to a specialist.

Of course this would go a good bit further than the rather timid steps forward which Obama is pushing for, and which are being treated with such hysteria by opponents. (There's that word "treated" again, Doug - doesn't always mean treated very nicely does it?)