"Yeah, but there are long lines in $name_of_country_with_socialized_medicine" is one of the most often-cited reasons why America shouldn't move more in the direction of socialized universal healthcare. Here are a few reasons why it's bogus:

1. The reason lines are shorter in America is not because our system is better or more efficient. It's because those who are covered are hesitant to go in for routine preventative checkups, or even for significant procedures they know they need, just because they know that (a) they'll have to pay a large co-pay and (b) the HMO/PPO is almost guaranteed to try to stick them with a giant bill. The HMOs and PPOs know this, and the simple threat of the healthcare consumer having to pay what could amount to thousands of dollars is enough to keep them away, raising profits for the healthcare provider, and yes, Virginia, making sure those lines are shorter for those lucky folks who have good health plans (or just haven't been fucked by theirs yet.)

2. Another significant reason the lines are shorter here is because 47 million of us, one out of every six, can't get into those lines because they have no coverage and no ability to pay the bill themselves.

3. The United States is a country of enormous means. If we simply stole the blueprints for any moderately-successful socialized medicine plan, with no changes at all in terms of its policies, administrative costs, etc., we would come out ahead, because we can afford to spend more per person on healthcare.

How do I know that? Because we already do. Americans pay way more than most countries with socialized medicine, yet receive less care. If we spent what we spend now, but the HMOs and drug companies weren't taking their enormous piece of the pie, Americans would have better care. The difference would be that the costs would be predictable (taken out of taxes) so nobody would ever be surprised/bankrupted by unforeseen medical expenses, which is important, given that the #1 cause of bankruptcy in this country is inability to pay for medical expenses.

The free market is good for many things, but for healthcare, it has proven to be a catastrophic failure. We got this one wrong, and we shouldn't be ashamed of borrowing ideas from others to make it right