hopefully the increase in preventitive medicine via education and change in social mores, would ease the burden re diabetes and obesity. Also a change (reduction) in so much litigation (which I hear about in the US) which seem to drive up medical costs. And also, 'free health care' should be means tested so those who can afford it should pay something, on some sort of sliding scale.

Basically I would amend Doug's viewpoint to something like 'complete, proper and rapid health care available even to those demonstrably without financial means'- as I say, on some sort of sliding scale. Lower income workers need this even more than welfare recipients, who are automatically eligible for free or low cost health care.

I'd also extend this to dental care - although this should be tied to patient obligations of future self-care in diet and oral hygeine