There are many factors at play with health care especially. The US population is far larger than any country in Europe, meaning there's far more people to care for. Doctors' salaries are also higher than nearly anywhere else on earth, which drives up costs, as do the preponderance of malpractice suits.
The vast majority of Americans have health care, whether through private providers or medicare and medicaid. The issue is how to deal with the 15% or so who don't. Many of these people are young and healthy and find paying for health insurance an unnecessary burden right now. Having the government take over health insurance would require a massive restructuring of the economy, greatly affecting all those who already have plans they like, and at great cost. In general in the US the quality of care provided under government programs like medicaid is already inferior to that provided by private insurers.
And that's before we get into the issues with European-style medical care. The lack of choice, the seeming encouragement of suicide in many places (there's a shocking case in Canada where the provider's response to a man asking to be given better care after being neglected was to offer him assisted suicide), the discounting of parents of toddlers, the long waits, ect.
These may or may not be representative of the European model, but they show that there is no perfect model, and what works in Europe won't work in the US.
Some level of government intervention is going to be necessary, but the best way forward for the US is to increase choice, options, and competition. Let people purchase cheaper insurance from out of state. Allow tiers of plans that would allow the young to afford insurance. There will still be uninsured people, but the number will be reduced, people will pay less in general, and there will be more money to cover those with chronic conditions as those who are healthy will be more likely to pay into the insurance pool. Many people on government programs might even choose to switch to private insurers, both improving the quality of their care and easing the burden on the economy. People will gravitate towards the insurers that offer the best balance of good care and affordable pricing, especially the pricing part, if they are allowed to.
It still won't be perfect, but nothing ever is, and it would a whole lot better than the current situation..
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