Not as true as you'd like it to be. Many private hospitals CAN turn you away (which is disastrous if that's the only place around) and, on top of that, some hospitals will do the absolute minimum to 'treat' someone - like give a dose of painkillers and send them on their way (there was a scandal like this in Massachusetts some years back with hospitals trying to skirt the laws - it was a process called "dumping" - the hospital that I worked at, Boston's Beth Israel, was on the receiving end of 'dumped' patients).

And charity? It doesn't cover chemo very often. I think one of the problems with today's health care debate is that we still have our 1950s-era pre-conceived notions about self-reliance. Back then, you DIED of cancer and that was about it. Now, you're in for at least 6 figures of treatment and our mindsets haven't really changed from the "Doctor is God" mode of thinking.

Even something as simple as a garden-variety childbirth has gone stratosperic. You read old articles of a hospital childbirth costing $20 in the 1920s or 30s. When my kids were born, the *minimum* charges were $5000 in 1987 and I have no idea HOW much was spent on my younger daughter in 1992 because of what happened hours after she was born (there were ambulances, a trip to Boston and neo-natal ICUs involved). I know that it cost over 6 figures.

That younger daughter is now 19 and I can't IMAGINE what it would cost for her to have to pay for a pregnancy.

And I know I sound like a broken record (you young'uns can Google the term) but NOTHING proposed by ANYONE seems to be addressing WHY we pay more than any other country on the planet.