I have never seen anyone denied necessary medical treatment due to an inability to pay. I worked in hospitals for about 15 years. Granted, I have been out of that arena for about 8 years.
I think the key point I am trying to make is the need to prepare for a dramatic shift in talking points. Much of the language on health care has been about how great the US system works in relation to the rest of the world, especially those countries that have single payer systems. Watch for survey after survey to be tabled showing how unhappy Americans are with the US system. On the other hand, watch for the corresponding surveys indicating that people in other countries much prefer their systems to the US system.
My issue is more pragmatic. Every industrial competitor of the US embeds the cost of health care within the general revenues of the government. It is not placed on the marketplace. So, US industry operates at a tremendous disadvantage to its international competitors.