Americans that think government- run healthcare is the be-all and end-all of health better think again. I live in Canada where we have government-run healthcare, and while there is a lot of benefit from it there are also serious drawbacks. The biggest drawback is that the government parses out healthcare for things like joint replacements and even cancer care so that they decide when they are going to pay for it and not doctors deciding when you need it. I have personally heard about cancer patients not having access to CT scans for their care and treatment and have personally witnessed people not being allowed to have joint replacements until they've been hobbling around on painful knees and hips for 6 months to a year.