ladichatterlee: i don't think government's track record is any worse than that of private enterprise.
I guess that depends on how one defines "track record."
Anyway, it's not a case of "free market health care" versus "socialist government-run health care" in this country. Our medical system is HEAVILY socialized as it stands. When comparing our system to Canada's (for instance - a system I know a little about and have experienced first-hand), it's comparing a system which is a hodgepodge of government control and private factors to a system which is more government controlled (though Canada also has private-free market factors in its medical system).
It's hard to make that comparison. For a certain group of people, the Canadian system works better, I think (also, as in America, where you live is highly related to what care you receive, and how reasonable it is). Many people have lost their homes and livelihoods and found themselves in horrendous debt because of medical expenses - something which doesn't happen in Canada - so give one point to Canada. Canada's more oriented to preventative care (e.g., colonoscopies...we've all read about people in the US who waited too long to do this simple preventive test, and reaped the horrible costs...something rarer in Canada) - point 2 to Canada; there is more innovation and better quality care on the higher levels of the US medical system - point 1 to the U.S.; taxes, largely in support of medical care, are substantially higher in Canada - point 2 to US; businesses in Canada are spared to some extent the tremendous costs of employee health-coverage - point 3 to Canada; people who are well-insured in the US are better-off (they get faster and more skilled care) than the average person in Canada - point 3 to the US. Etc.
So one's perspective about health care largely depends on where one is in life. Most of the people I know are nicely insured, and are able to afford it while maintaining a good middle-class life. I think they're a bit better-off than their Canadian counterpart. Those who aren't so well-insured (and aren't poor enough to qualify for medical assistence), are not better off.
For the record, I think I would prefer a more unitary system like Canada's to a piecemeal socialist system as advocated by Obama (and is used in other countries, to some degree), where one may get the worst of both worlds.
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