CowboyTed

Googled 'Health ranking by Country'
The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems Thats the WHO.
Ranked 37.

And here is expenditure per GDP
Total Health Expenditures as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 2000-2005 - Country Rankings
2nd highest behind 'The Marshall Islands' and increasing at twice the pace of the main european countries.

America's Health Rankings 2008
Source: Various years of data, World Health Statistics, 2008, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Worst Infant mortality on the list by a margin.

And there is more
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: An International Update on the Comparative Performance of American Health Care - The Commonwealth Fund

2007


2010


Infant mortality index(pretty solid indicator)


46th in the world.



And this is what you got

Source
Health Spending in the United States and the Rest of the Industrialized World - The Commonwealth Fund

So there is my proof. On every level the most expensive in the world and preforming below average for the industrial nations. My sources are world respected organizations so I expect yours are too.

Sam you also mixed up medical research with medical care. We never said to make medical research public event though both private and public medical reasearch work hand in hand with each other.
By the way your wrong about where the money comes for reasearch

Research funding in many countries comes from research bodies which distribute money for equipment and salaries. In the UK, funding bodies such as the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust derive their assets from UK tax payers, and distribute this to institutions in a competitive manner.

In the United States, the most recent data from 2003 suggest that about 94 billion dollars were provided for biomedical research in the United States. The National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies collectively contribute 26.4 billion dollars and 27.0 billion dollars, respectively, which constitute 28% and 29% of the total, respectively. Other significant contributors include biotechnology companies (17.9 billion dollars, 19% of total), medical device companies (9.2 billion dollars, 10% of total), other federal sources, and state and local governments. Foundations and charities, led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, contributed about 3% of the funding.

The enactment of orphan drug legislation in some countries has increased funding available to develop drugs meant to treat rare conditions, resulting in breakthroughs that previously were uneconomical to pursue.

Source:Financial anatomy of biomedical research. [JAMA. 2005] - PubMed Result

So to summarize:
You are paying the highest in the world for a below average service. The one thing that can bring that cost down is a more European universal public care system.

At the moment the US spend 15.2% of GDP on Healthcare. The top EU countries are at 10%. Everyone below 10.2%. These figures are rising for everyone but for the US the figures are rising faster. At close to double the rate of the EU average.

5% of the US GDP($14 Trillion) is $700 Billion per year. Now at the moment alot of this money is paid half and half by public and private. This is raising the cost of the labor in the United States (e.g. General Motors for example).
The money comes form the economy either way. So the question should be about efficiency.
The EU has a more efficient modal already on the ground working day in day out.

So whats the resistance to using it?
Well that is down to good old fashioned fear. Every scare tactic in the book is being used to scare up a storm and distort the picture.. Calls of Communism, to government control,...
Heaped with the most powerful lobby groups in DC(Big Pharma, Medical Lobby, Private Healthcare....). This is nothing less than propaganda. The facts there are simple. But these groups are getting this extra $700 billion pumped into there industry every year while having to provide the expected level of care.
$700 billion buys alot of media hype, senate and congress votes... They even have guys on this board willing to do there bidding while being totally blind to the actual facts.

So how do the lead countries do it?
There secret is in the preventive and primary care areas. They spend more of there cash on making sure people get sick less often and when they do they try and catch it earlier. They run targeted media campaigns, they break down the barrier to seeing a medical professional early and without the fear of not knowing. The citizens know if the worst happened they will be looked after in there time of need. Is it perfect? No. Is it better? Definitely, Yes.
The US has success in the area around cancer as well, they have shown when they get there act together in one area they can really excel.