"The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care," by T.R. Reid does such a good job of laying out the issues. There's a lot of deliberate confusion about health care options around the globe. First, he lays out four basic arrangements for health care among the developed nations: The Bismarck Model is found in Germany, Japan, France, Belgium, and Switzerland (among others). It uses private health insurance plans, usually financed jointly by employers and employees through payroll deductions. But unlike our health insurance industry, these health insurance companies are "basically charities: They cover everybody, and they don't make a profit. The doctor's office is a private business, and many hospitals are privately owned." Moreover, "tight regulation of medical services and fees gives the system much of the cost-control clout..." The Beveridge Model. Medical care is "a public service, like the fire...