Here's the thing...NOthing's free...I want single payor universal health care, and I know it costs money. The opponents to it will point to Sweden or Germany or Canada or England and say "they pay 40% in taxes". And you know what? They are right. They do. But here's the thing....we are the only country where the majority of people rely on their employer to provide health insurance, and many employers are raising the employees share quite high, if not just dropping health care coverage altogether. I have a high deductible plan at work that covers me and my daughter. Between me and my employer, we pay almost $1,000 a month for that. Then factor in a $6,000 to $15,000 deductible. So if we take my newly cut taxes and add in $12,000 per year in premiums and another $6,000 per year in deductibles - I'm paying almost 40% of my income towards taxes and health care. I'd rather pay 40% in taxes and have my medical care taken care of for "free".
I am a bicyclist and I'm active on many bike related internet sites. I took a low speed spill on my bike a couple of years ago and had an $8,000 ER bill. I read stories from guys in England and Australia and Denmark who get hit by cars and their medical bills are - nothing. Something like that could bankrupt the average American. And they all seem to be quite happy with the coverage they have. And the lives that they lead. Oh yeah...and despite their high tax rates, a lot of them are tooling around on $6000 bikes.
So while nothing is "free", I think health care is a right. Even if it means we all have to pay more in taxes.