A Medical Emergency

When I was little, I hated Hillary Clinton because she wanted to universalize our medical system. Obviously, as a second grader I didn't know exactly what that meant. From my parents I figured out that it would do two things: Make it hard for us to get good health care and make us like the Canadians. Neither of those are too pleasant.
Now that I'm a little older and poorer, I can't help but think its time to change our system. We need a universal health care system for our country, and yes, I do know that the juxtaposition of universal and country is odd. We need to change the rules to try and fix our system that is feeding the health insurance companies millions and millions of dollars.
In our system, health care is available to those who can afford it. The more money you have, the more you can afford. For a country that supposedly values "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" we seem to only want quality of life (and sadly, occasionally quantity) to go to those with big wallets. We have a system that restricts medicine and doctors to those who can afford it.
Recently I have gone to the doctor with no medical insurance. Yes, I know that it is unwise to not have medical insurance, but that will be remedied in a few weeks. Nonetheless, I have gone to the doctor. Went in at 2:00 and left at about 2:30. Cost me 100 bucks. That's right. I paid about 3.33 a minute. I'm sorry, but the overhead, accounting staff, and nursing staff don't cost enough to justify taking about nearly 2,000 dollars an hour (considering they see about 20 people in an hour). That is crazy. Those doctors are taking that cash, paying salaries, and then buying yachts. Fran and I can afford it if we need it, but what about single income, single mother families of four or five? How do they go to the doctor?
Sadly, many of them don't.
I think it is time we become like the other non-barbaric countries in this world and start given everyone free health care (free as in paid for with tax dollars). Places like the UK, Canada, and New Zealand are doing just fine with it. Some say that such a system limits care for severe problems like cancer. Are you telling me that no one in the commenwealth nations get cancer treated? Please.
The fact is, our system works for rich people, so we keep it. Yes, you may have trouble paying for health care if you get some rare, serious disease. But I would rather have upper and middle class people struggle getting help for conditions that they likely won't get, then lower class children not getting medicine for pneumonia or bronchitis because their mom can't afford it.
Others suggest that no one will become a doctor if the money incentive is not there. Frankly, I want a doctor who wants to heal people because it is right and redemptive, not so that he can have a vacation in the Caribbean and a new Lexus.
Medical care and expertise and equipment are a limited service. Most people in our country are okay with our system because they don't feel the pinch of that limit. Their money gets them access to supply. But there are others how can't afford it, and thus go without. It is time to do the right thing and allow everyone an equal chance to the wonder of modern medicine.