In fact, postponing a doctor visit could be the basis for denial of coverage in the future, according to a recent Bankrate story that focuses on the difficulty of procuring health insurance if you happen to be over 50. Yet Americans routinely delay seeing the doctor and roughly a third don't fill their prescriptions or they skip doses to save money.

What's the solution?
There are lots of different solutions. Some people advocate a single-payer system in which the federal government takes over the role of insurance companies and provides coverage for everyone in place of private insurers or employers. Others say individual states should run the health care show. Still others say employers are doing a fine job of it, but that all businesses should be required to offer coverage to their workers, including small ones.

How do Americans feel about the government taking over health care? The table below shows the level of confidence Americans have in the federal government to provide quality health care coverage to all citizens who need it, versus the state governments to all residents who need it, versus employers to all workers who need it.

Poll: Who could provide quality health care coverage?

Extremely or very confident Somewhat confident Not too or not at all confident Federal govt. 26% 31% 42% State govt. 20% 34% 45% Employers 26% 48% 24%

A global view
Employers get higher ratings, but that's probably because the employer system is the only one we know. Employers have been cast in the role of health care plan providers for decades. Today they provide 71 percent of workers with health coverage.

Other countries -- notably Canada, Australia and many countries in Europe -- have successfully implemented government-sponsored universal health care plans. If you see Michael Moore's "Sicko," you get the distinct impression that the citizens of Canada and England are very satisfied with their systems, as are the French. Now, there's a nation that knows how to stage protest rallies and shake things up!

Does universal coverage hamper these countries' economies? In "Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism," the authors say that extensive government "safety net" programs, including universal health insurance, do not appear to slow productivity growth. One could even argue that having this insurance could free up latent entrepreneurs to pursue their capitalistic dreams. "If workers know that their health care costs are covered independent of their employment circumstances, then they should be more willing to establish their own firms than if, as in the United States, their health insurance is tied to their current jobs," the authors note.