I expect the French lady is more worried about it than anyone else. It is not pleasant to be constantly reminded of a debt but there is seldom any serious effort made to collect beyond the correspondence. I am all for a treaty if it would help in any way.

Most hospitals in the US are required to treat indigents and emergency cases regardless of insurance. Free or very low cost insurance is available for all minor children. Anyone that fails to get medical treatment in the USA is simply failing to take advantage of the services available. Anyone that needs an organ transplant gets it if they are a suitable candidate.

IMO our system already suffers from excessive government involvement. Further government involvement might make the system easier to manage for individuals that want to just present a card and be treated for free or near free but the quality of service will suffer and the likelihood of bureaucratic decisions regarding life or death will increase.

Prescription drugs are another matter. The cost is too high for many reasons and greed probably has some part in the equation. The availability of cheap drugs from the internet is a good thing and is an example of the free market at work.