really sort of socialistic except the profits are privatized. Socialization of costs and privitization of profits.
Except that privatization of profits is the opposite of socialism. That's kinda like saying that Obama is sort of Republican except for his political positions and beliefs.
Private insurance IS a capitalist idea - the money is all handled by private companies corporations and the market sets the cost - insurance rates are free to rise and fall as situations and market pressures dictate.
Eliminating that (which would actually take government interference in the form of bans and legislation against it - read: even more government control) would destroy our medical industry. When you are in a serious car accident, or suffer a heart attack, etc, it takes a lot of man hours and a LOT of materials to perform an effective surgery and get you back on the road to recovery. Those costs can't just disappear into thin air. The average person cannot afford such an unexpected cost. Can you pull $30,000 out of nowhere (note, I'm reducing that to compensate from your perceived drop in costs - I severely fractured my leg 5 years ago and all the surgeries and whatnot came up to over $70,000 - thankfully I had insurance).
So, as more and more people were unable to pay medical bills on any surgery (can't expect only the rich guys who pay their bills to support the whole industry), the whole practice would become unprofitable. Our doctors would gradually start to practice overseas where they could actually get paid for their work. What we'd be left with would be the substandard guys who can't hold down a job anywhere else.
It's not that everyone pays in and few get access - everyone has access. Does your insurance not cover regular doctor's visits? Do they deny you if you have an accident? The bottom line is that everyone has access, but most people will pay in a bit more than they use. That's the whole concept of insurance (of ANY form) - most people never need it because when you roll the dice you'll probably be safe. Insurance just ensures that if you do get dealt a bad hand, your life isn't effectively over.
In truth, carrying a gun for protection is much the same way. Many people carry everyday. The vast majority will never have to use it defend themselves in their entire lifetime. BUT, nobody wants to be that exception who ends up unarmed when confronted by an attacker. So you lay down your money for gun/ammo, and carry it everyday even though you probably won't need it. Are all the ones who carry being sensible for not wanting to roll the dice with their lives, or foolish for spending lots of money and time on something they'll probably never need?