If medical coverage is not a necessity, what is it?

[Kantor]

richardhutnik said:

Kantor said:

sales2099 said:
This is why I like living in Canada. Taxed up the ass, but hey, free medical care.

The US government spends more on healthcare per capita than Canada does: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_health_care_systems_in_Canada_and_the_United_States

So it's more that the USA has a horrifically inefficient system than any lack of funding.

The USA gets a fairly poor bang for the buck for its healthcare.  In the political debates, this will often get ignored behind mantras of "America has the best healthcare in the world!", and individuals like Rush Limbaugh who argues that individuals can afford to take out loans the size of the cost of half a SUV to pay for a procedure if needed.  I even seen an argument where the rest of the world needs to be more like the United States, because America is leading in innovation, and the rest of the world gets a free ride on its medical advances.

America does have the best healthcare in the world. It also has the world healthcare system of all developed countries.

It's worth noting that Singapore's healthcare market is far less regulated, and far more efficient and successful.