how cooked do you have to be to synthesize that sentence without universal healthcare and an enormous chunk of the population living paycheck to paycheck
You're the richest country in the world (Andorra isn't real, don't @ me). And if you want universal healthcare, come and experience the joy of the NHS. I have to actually live with it.
Some would say having a choice of which healthcare to pay for, the ability to choose a provider, the right to not pay for healthcare (maybe you value an extra holiday more than being able to go to a GP) is a good thing.
I'm from the UK, everyone I've met in the NHS has good intentions but the system itself means the standard of care is very poor. I have no option to go elsewhere with my £'s if a receptionist is extremely rude to me or a doctor won't listen.
Not to say the US system is perfect, just that adding even more government intervention (and associated plunder) by making healthcare universal, is perhaps not the answer.