"Italy[edit]
Main article: Healthcare in Italy
Italy has a public health care service for all the residents called "Servizio Sanitario Nazionale" or SSN (National Health Service). It is publicly run and funded mostly from taxation. Some services require variable co-pays, while other services (like emergency medicine and a general doctor) are free. There is also a small parallel private health care system, especially in the field of dentistry and optometry."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_universal_health_care#Italy

it's much more affordable but i it's not flat at free and varies from country to country.

They were short on hospital beds and medical personnel even before the virus hit. Single-payer doesn't work any better than any other system if it isn't managed properly. The Scandinavian "model" systems are struggling, too, although they aren't as swamped as Italy.

how would the US look right now if it were up to a larger version of the VA to deal with the pandemic?

The number just keeps on climbing. It was 250 yesterday.

we have the money to institute a single payer system, maybe based on Medicaid. I’m on Medicaid and it’s great, I don’t have any medical fees and prescriptions are free. I think we’re a rich country that could get it right.

That said, I believe an intermediate step like adding a public option and increasing subsidies is probably the way to go. Let people experience a public option and see that it’s just as good as the gold plans. Also, if we go slowly, there won’t be the shock to the system that would happen if we immediately eliminated private insurance.