I don't understand why medicine should be free in the first place. To mitigate the burden that cancers, heart diseases, diabetes to the economy, one must look how to prevent them, and not to find ways to make the treatments free or cheaper.

It is amazing how many think that Big Pharma does all these medicaments, researches and discoveries by applying magic and alchemy, with no money involved as investments whatsoever. Yes, maybe the medicine itself has a profit margin that can be curbed, but why would it be free?

Does the 5% of the citizen's salary ( the standard contribution to the health system in Romania ) is enough to warrant him access to a state of the art hospital? No. Then run-down hospitals will exist, with filthy beds and old equipment. And they are for free, even for the minorities who don't work, for the elders, for the parasites living off on the state's money ( our money ) because they don't want to work, etc.

I really think that the system in the USA is far more fucked up than in Eastern European block. I would happily be here, in the eastern block, where I will be treated for free in case of urgency, instead of the USA where you will for sure die in the street if you don't have a social security number or such.