Rikki, you must remember, the USA is the only civilized country in the world that does not have some form of Universal Health Care. Here, private health care providers and pharmaceuticals are in charge of setting prices.

It's been proven that the overall cost of healthcare would be lower with Universal Healthcare vs. a private policy, and the majority of Americans want Universal Health Care, but Insurance lobbyist are powerful, and have Politicians under control, who in return, have convinced many Americans that Government run programs are bad. Yes taxes would be higher, but that would mean no high private insurance company fees, hospital costs, and drug prices would be zero or near zero. Employers would not have the burden of paying Health Care for employees, and therefore, just maybe would pass on the savings as salary increase.

We do have a watered down "Cares" act (otherwise know as ObamaCare) that does offer some protection for anyone with a "pre-existing" conditions (yes, private health insurance companies can, and do, turn down those with a "pre existing" health condition) and offers a somewhat better lower cost option for purchasing private health care insurance. But beleive it or not, we have Politicians here, including the President who have been trying for years to take even that away. And we do have Medicare for Seniors, that works fairly well, Pays 80% of healthcare costs, after that you're on your own. And if you served in the military we do have the Veterans Administration that offers free or low cost health coverage, and speaking from experience, this government run program, similar to other socially run programs, does a great job.

We can only imagine what it's like to live in a country where healthcare is a right, and not a privilege. Maybe some day, we will catch up.

All that being said, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but here in the USA