Sorry for your loss. I appreciate your sharing your viewpoint and experience.

But I do have something to ask you: why do you assume single payer healthcare systems come with a deathswitch? You also seem to believe singlepayer is about the good of the many with complete disregard for the few. You also assume that it would mean the mob decides for you as in a panel of non specialists that make the choice for you. I trully want to know why and as nobody contradicted you, as no pundit ever contradicts on the tv, I would like to ask our fellow martians if this is a common idea in the US.

I live in France and I'm glad to share the experience of 2 friends of mine whose todler has a rare heart malformation. The kid got sick at about 18 months and was dying. When it was clear the regional hospital couldn't do more for the child, they put her in a helicopter and flew her to Paris in the hands of a team of specialists. They also put together a conference call with the experts in her disease and even sent out samples to the guy that discovered it. Almost 2 years later the kid is alive and well, but her mother had to give up work to care for her as she is sensitive to infections. The family receives a decent sum of money to make up for the lost revenu from the mother, and the entire hospital bill and subsequent bills was zero or something neglectable.

As for deathpanels... Well... Euthanasia is illegal. Instead of having MBAs lead the doctors, there's a few councils, such as bioethics, that give out protocols. And none of my friends that are doctors would pull the plug from a patient anyways. And as long as the system in place is made so that doctors have this decision and not suits from the insurance company, killing off people to save money is not a problem. It will be if the system runs out of money...let's see. It's not perfect and the current elections are about how to fix it.

And