General Discussion

But even in countries that have something like Medicare for everybody, private insurance can still be purchased to take care of what the government program doesn't cover. The difference is that the basic coverage will at least keep you alive.

Insurance as a concept isn't a bad idea, and there was once a time when it was just a way of creating a pool of funds contributed by policy holders to cover whatever loss occurred (health, liability, etc.) plus administrative expenses. Inevitably, though, somebody figured out the same basic structure could make a profit beyond just covering losses. Then they figured out that the most efficient way of doing it was by denying claims, since if they just raised premiums they'd lose business. And here we are.