[zerebubuth]

Single-payer systems are not without problems either. Unless we're rich enough, as a society, to pay for perfect healthcare for everyone then there will be some people who get less than perfect care.

In an individual-pays system, those with expensive conditions or those who are poorer lose out. In a government-pays system those without political leverage lose out - often still those who are poorer.

The British NHS, for example, has been the target of much ire due to different (and arbitrary-seeming) spending priorities in different parts of the country, often called the "postcode lottery".

[Retric]

If a society is not able to pay for 'perfect healthcare' then it will not pay for 'perfect healthcare' under any system.

However, as your reduce the cost of providing healthcare with single payer systems you increase society's ability to provide high quality healthcare. Remember, if a doctor sees 1000 people a month then you can detect fraud by randomly sampling 20 cases. However, if 10 companies each need to check for fraud they may investigate 10 cases each, but with 10 X 10 that's still more effort. Further, they are each going to try and cost shift to the others, which is an expensive zero sum game.

[icebraining]

However, if 10 companies each need to check for fraud they may investigate 10 cases each, but with 10 X 10 that's still more effort.

Or they'll coordinate to avoid the duplication, usually by having some kind of industry society/non-profit that does the checking.