Re: Surely it would have been far less than $7000 a year out of their pocket?
No, it wouldn't. That $7000/yr is via the most efficient means known. If it went through the politicians it would at at least another 20% for the federal staff to manage it, plus another 10% for the lobbyists arguing all sides of the legislation. And the side effects?
Oh wait that's right we just did this and we still don't know what all the side effects will be. What we do know is most people's cost of insurance has gone up at least 10% and in many cases doubled while not insuring a single extra person. Oh sure they note all the people they've signed up, but not all the people who've lost insurance because of it.
There are a lot of correctable problems with US healthcare.
1. Because it involves health and everyone puts the value of health at infinity the cost of malpractice lawsuits is way too high. Yes, truly guilty should be punished, but malpractice suits ain't doing that. That's just another insurance racket on top of the medical one.
2. There is not interstate competition. Tim noted Vermont which is the worst case, but other states have similar issues.
3. Insurance being tied to your job as a result of FDR's socialist policies. Yes, I said it. And 0bamacare didn't correct that.
4. Lastly, and yes I know this will stick in British craws, but here it is: the US is the leading country in researching diseases, finding cures, and supporting everybody else's health care systems. Sure it only cost 10 cents to manufacture the drug, but it costs billions to develop it, plus all the failed trials that lead to the one that worked. So forcing pharmaceutical companies to lower prices because NHS or whatever other agency is buying in bulk doesn't equitably spread the cost of finding the cure.