I saw a post Pixie made on Facebook about this, I didn't want to respond to that and dilute that message that "insurance is good, free is bad" but there are different types of free out there.
If I want to go to a doctor, it used to be free for 6 and under, now 13 and under its free. Great so if a young one is sick, there is no barrier to getting them seen. Politics took it from 6 to 13 .. and not higher. Some groups have free/cheaper visits, but for me it can be $50 to go see a doctor. It sucks when you go along and they just say, well its not more serious, just viral.
Dental care is free up to 18, after that it really varies. If you teeth are fucked, then you are looking at a major bill, could be easy to go into the thousands of $. For us, when public health got rolled out, the dentists at the time said, cool but don't put us in. Fuck that decision I say. Most people who don't have dental issues don't understand as they have never had the financial or physical pain, let alone the shit that it does to your emotions when you worry about smiling. Politicians sometimes talk about change but no progress in decades.
Public hospitals, A&E is free. If you need to get referred, a doctor will need to contact the hospital depending how bad it is, it might be declined or seen depeding on various criteria.
We do have a private health system in parallel, so people can use insurance/pay to bypass the delays or getting declined if you think there is something wrong.
As someone who has had a few health problems, I'm glad I live where I live, but I do have some other problems where I wish we were even more progressive.