> In countries where the government foots the bill for healthcare, and healthcare is obviously a big portion of their expenses, the government will usually scramble to do everything it can to improve the population's general health.
That is actually one of the bigger problems with the single-payer system. Your health is fundamentally related to everything you do, and consequently giving the government an interest in your health opens the doors to monitoring and controlling every aspect of your life in the name of regulating health care costs. In forfeiting the liberty to do things which may negatively impact your health then you become not a free individual, but more akin to the government's pet, your every action subject to their approval.
That is actually one of the bigger problems with the single-payer system. Your health is fundamentally related to everything you do, and consequently giving the government an interest in your health opens the doors to monitoring and controlling every aspect of your life in the name of regulating health care costs. In forfeiting the liberty to do things which may negatively impact your health then you become not a free individual, but more akin to the government's pet, your every action subject to their approval.