hiredgun

Back before the primaries, when Governor Dean spoke at my school, one of his grievances about current policy was the state of healthcare. He lambasted the United States as the only civilized country with such a large portion of its population adrift without access to medical care.

At the time, I was emotionally compelled to agree with him, but I realize that I don't know very much about the subject. My question is, what would be the benefits (or costs) of a universal healthcare system in the US?

Some of the things I'd be interested in learning about and discussing:

I've heard it said that despite a "more efficient" private system, the US spends more per capita than, say, Canada, on healthcare. Is this true? If so, what role do litigation and insurance play in these costs?

What about the quality of health care? In the 21st century, is it still true that the US has the best healthcare in the world (albeit, only for those who can afford it?) How do countries with nationalized healthcare measure up?

Finally, what are the political prospects for a radical change in healthcare within, say, the next decade? (My uneducated guess would be that there are rather low odds.) Do you suppose that healthcare is an issue that, like taxes, Kerry can focus on domestically since his Iraq policy will basically be identical to Bush's?