OK, so this is Australia's system (from patient's perspective). I'm a T2 diabetic, obese, 55, have had one heart attack, angiogram/stent, second angiogram, quad bypass:
0. Everyone pays a 1.5% "extra" tax for Medicare, but that's actually just a cover. The actual cost to government is much higher, but is paid out of general revenue.
1. GPs and specialists are reimbursed by the government at a govt decided rate for different procedures.
2. The GPs/specialists can "bulk bill" in which case patients don't pay, or there is a "gap" that has to be paid by the patient. The gap cannot be covered by insurance (by law).
3. Medicines that are approved by an independent body are subsidized on the Pharmaceutical Benefits System (PBS). Once on that list (and most meds are), the cost to the patient is $35 for a prescription, subsidized to $6 for those on welfare. My meds (statin, beta blocker, ACE inhibitor, metformin etc) cost me about $100/month.
4. Public hospitals are free at point of use by patients. This includes all ER, surgery etc. However, because this is a limited resource, there are waiting lists for different procedures, managed based on urgency. If I'd gone to a public hospital ER for my heart attack, the treatment would have been as quick and as good as what I got when I went to a private hospital ER. Oh, except that the private ER cost me $400.
5. Private insurance is available. For me, the insurance costs $300/month (ie, $3600 pa). This allows me to use private hospitals within a wide network (with a $400/per admittance excess), ancilliary benefits like optical ($200 pa) etc. It also allows me the choice of specialist/surgeons in hospital and things like private rooms.
It may not be "great", but compared to the US it's much much better. There are no/zero/nada cases of "medical bankruptcy" here. ER costs are not in the thousands, bills aren't ridiculous, my entire treatment regime over 2 years and 2 admittals to hospital cost me less than $10K because I chose my cardiologist and surgeon. If I'd gone "public", the cost would have been $0.
Our public hospitals are the "teaching hospitals" and our medical research and results are world leading. Our GPs are primarily focussed on care and patient outcomes, they now spend a lot of time as case managers, for example, my T2 care plan is managed by my GP but involves a dietician, an endocrenologist etc.
