A National Health system may work for countries like the UK, but I don't think that it would be a good idea for the US because we place so much value on individual freedoms--namely, freedom of choice. In the UK, the government takes care of everything. But in the US, we do not give all power to the government. The power is with the people. Giving the government complete control of the health system is something that works, absolutely, but I don't think it would ever be successful in the US.

I like the new direction health care reform is proposing. The public option is government-run, but it doesn't (for now, at least, though there are projections that it will) encompass the entire system. The private market still exists, so the individual still has the freedom to choose the plan that is best for him.

The problem we have in the US is that health care is not seen as a positive right. I think that is the main difference between us and other developed countries. We do not see health care as something every individual is entitled to and obligated to have and have provided to him. When that basic concept is legitimized and understood, then we can begin to realize universal health care.