Bah, OP doesn't seem to get through my news server, using the reply...

Especially if you consider that the poor in France get their private
insurance paid by the state, so those who cannot afford premium coverage are
not screwed, they just get it for free... Besides, the socialized healthcare
is good enough that neither me nor my gf had any private insurance until
last year - just because we did not see the point in having one. And we only
got one because that's part of her work benefits.
As for my hefty tax, I have to remind you that my whole healthcare,
including private insurance, it still a lot less expensive than the crapy
*public* US healthcare. I mean, the one you pay with your taxes, but don't
even benefit from. Talk about being screwed.

Yes, it's like education... Most private schools are for losers here -
religious schools or schools for noble rich with too much inbreeding. The
best French schools are public anyway, and free. Most of our politicians and
managers went to public schools, do you think it's because they were too
poor to afford a private school? And the few quality private schools (mostly
business schools) are not that expensive (most expensive, HEC, is around
$10,000/year) and can get paid both from public (revenue based only - you're
poor, you automatically get one) and private grants (academic or revenue
based). Medical schools are all public and almost free. I paid $100 a year
for my education, in one of the top universities of the country. And the
state gave me $350 per month since I was poor to pay for my books, food and
the like, so I could focus on studying instead of on flipping burgers. I
also had a private health insurance for extra health cover in the package.
Besides, you can't compare the American BASIS to ours. Noone in his right
mind would settle for only the American basis. On the other hand, French
public health insurance covers all the major risks. If you don't get any
additionnal insurance, you will only have to pay a small fee for doctors
visits (around $6) and drugs (30% of the costs).
Keep in mind that drugs are much less expensive here than they are in the
US. For instance, Prandin 0.5mg x 90 is worth $18 in France versus $90
(drugstore.com) - even with basic coverage only, this means paying $5 out of
my pocket. And this is an expensive drug here, because there is no generics
yet. Likewise, Alprazolam (Xanax) is worth $4 here 0.5mg x 30 ($1.2 out of
my pocket) versus $8 in the USA (drugstore.com), it's even worse if you look
at the brand name at $35 in the USA versus $6 in France ($1.8 out of my
pocket). This means that even with only the basic public insurance, you can
cure something basic like a paryngitis for under $15, drugs and doctor
included.
Same for lab results, hospital and all... My gf cut her hand pretty deeply,
and had to get stitches and several exams to make sure no nerve had been
cut, including x-ray. She also had to have a nurse check the stitches, renew
the bandage and all for a couple of weeks. The total cost of that was under
$20, with only basic public insurance. Same with my 2 y.o. brother getting
brain surgery - so far, this has included four scanners, several exams,
counselling with various doctors, a visit to a few private sector doctors
because my father wanted a couple of alternative opinions... So far, the
grand total cost of all that has been $0 - all covered by the basic
insurance. When he finally has surgery, he will have to spend a nights at
the hospital, and then, my father will have to pay around $15 per night -
for the bed and food. That's when the private insurance will kick in to
cover the cost. $15 for a brain surgery by one of the top surgeon in the
country, a bed for night in an European capital city and a meal is not that
expensive... That's cheaper than an hotel room in the worst part of the
city...