http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92106731

To summarize the article:

Switzerland's health care system: individuals — not employers or the government — choose from a broad array of health plans. Health insurance premiums are not linked to income. So everyone pays the same. Under Swiss law, insurers may not make a profit on the basic plan, which is quite comprehensive. Individuals, however, can adjust their premium up or down by choosing a larger or smaller annual deductible, or by joining an HMO-type plan that requires them to choose a doctor in a network.

Where Swiss health insurers can and do make profits, however, is on supplemental coverage. This is for things like dentistry, alternative medicine (which is popular in Switzerland), and semiprivate or private hospital rooms. For 30 francs per month, Cecile and her husband have a supplementary policy that covers, "for example, all kinds of prevention, not-on-the-list medication, help at home, glasses, transport, alternative medicine. That's a good one," she says. For another 105 francs each, they have another supplemental policy that guarantees them a semiprivate hospital room — and the possibility of a private, rather than a public hospital.

When the Swiss citizen was told about US's views on mandating health insurance, she replied: "That's really an American question. You are so used to having this individualistic way of thinking, and that's why you don't have these social [safety] nets. You still have this pioneer mentality where everyone has to take care of themselves"

That's not how people in Switzerland think about it, she says. That pioneer mentality, "is good for people who have no problems, but there are a bunch of people who ... need a social net. "I'm really happy to give part of my salary to a solidarity system," she says.

As seen from the article, even with the label of "socialism", there still are various caveats that introduce private finance and provision of health. However, as mentioned in the article, our "individualistic" nature prevents our adaptability toward new strategies of diffusing new technologies, regulating provision of scarce resources, and financing alternatives that would enhance social capital with the potential of finally being able to say successfully outweigh the benefits to the procedural costs, without any detrimental effects on the total cost-sharing.