A lot of people will say that this is not the ideal, but hospitals cannot refuse treatment to someone based on ability to pay. I agree it is not the ideal, but who cannot come up with the $50 to see a family doctor? And once you begin to talk about what's ideal, then you enter into, what about dental coverage, a low deductible or coinsurance, hey wait a minute, they need vision coverage too.
But who runs to the doctors the most? The so-called poor who have the government pay their way. It's the Medicaid and Medicare population who uses doctors and hospitals the most --- the Medicaid families who can afford to take their children into the ER everytime they cough. Those who actually pay $50 out of their own pocket tend to take care of their own health.
Unfortunately people who talk more like poliscistudent, we need limits on... and we need to nationalize... and we need more controls on the economy... are becoming more and more prevalent. Teaching basic economics is something everyone should be taught. At least they'd understand supply and demand so you wouldn't have to explain why people earn what they earn and why government interference in the economy is almost never a good thing.