if you get the chance check out the PBS Documentary "Sick Around the World"
they explore the various alternatives already in practice around the world..the top two they determined were Taiwan and Switzerland....Taiwan was engaged in huge deficit spending to keep theirs afloat because the politicians refused to tell the public they had to pony up more to support the system for fear of being booted from office, my favorite quote regarding Taiwan was when an administrator was asked how they handle people that "overuse " the system..it was explained that they "go to their house or call them in and have a little talk with them"
...Switzerland was dealing with a population of only 7 million people...Germany and Japan were also near the top of the list..