While there are a lot of good and reasonable things said in the OP, I predict you’re going to get a substantial amount of well deserved flak for this:
Or the U.K.:
N.B. that the exponents of this policy are the “conservative” party – once you’ve made the government the payor of first and last resort, all political bets are off.
IIRC John Edwards suggested something along the lines of “mandatory preventative care.”
How about Homeland Security using the Real ID Act in enforcing over the counter drug transactions from your local pharmacy or supermarket?
Private insurance isn’t necessarily any better. Insurance companies often refuse to take on new customers who take more than one or two prescription drugs, even if they are absolutely necessary for sustaining life, by treating blood pressure for example. I learned recently about a 31 year old woman who can’t get insurance because, at the age of 14, she used an acne drug that has been since banned.
The free market does not guarantee access to care any better than the government would. I’m on COBRA now, and if I don’t find a new job with the 18 month deadline, my wife and I will likely not be able to get health insurance.