That is why socialized medicine, American style, will be more expensive, wasteful, and gruesome than in other Western countries. Under a market system, people face built-in incentives to do their best to stay healthy, for they are punished by the price system when something goes wrong. For example, the uninsured think twice before going to the doctor because they have to pay him out of their pocket. This is as it should be. Initially offered by unions, it was expanded to circumvent wage and price controls.
Insurance only makes sense if it is profitable.
And it's only profitable when the insurer pays out less in claims than he takes in through premiums. To do that, he must put together risk pools of people who will, on average, cost less than their payments. Otherwise insurance is only a mistake or, in the case of government, a welfare subsidy. Under subsidized insurance, a vast amount of health resources are used up by government on people who prefer crack cocaine to fresh fruit, or television to a brisk walk. This makes neither moral not economic sense.