I think in theory government healthcare is an excellent idea, but practical applications just do not work like one would hope they would in the real world. Politics, greed and other side effects of human nature make a totally successful public healthcare system nothing but a dream.

I totally agree that needless procedures / treatment can be damaging but there are a large number of people out there not getting needed treatment for absurd reasons. That's where I have a problem.

I always get into arguments with people I know back in the states about public healthcare. Many of them think it is the avenue towards the best healthcare for everyone, which just simply isn't the case. Many of them have utopian dreams of how it should work, but none of them have actually experienced it for themselves.