I think of it more as industries than anything monolithic: managed care, behavioral health, insurance, research, marketing, etc. Having worked in behavioral health for most of the past decade, I've seen some abuses, but that pales in comparison to the good done by arranging for at least some subsidized care (government, insurance, combination).

As for the insurance/public option, I typically would pay about $150/month for coverage, with the employer covering the rest. When I have received COBRA letters, the bill would usually be for $650-700/month (needless to say, I went uninsured during those spells, like that persisting to this day).

So let's say there was a single-payer system and my tax rate (I had a taxable $35K in 2011, so right at the upper threshold of 15%) were to go from say 15% to a full 25% for all $35K earned. I would pay an extra $3500 or so a year in taxes. Presume that if that were to happen and I didn't have to pay that $150/month. That would decrease my effective payment increase to $1700/year (of course, I'm doing this in my head; the math could be off slightly). On paper, it would would look like I'm paying more, but if my benefits were added to my salary (which would likely have increased my monthly salary by around $500/month), then it would appear that the total cost for me having health insurance would go from $700/month to say $300-325/month (assuming of course that all that 10% increase in tax rate went directly to health care, which it most certainly wouldn't).

Seems like a trade-off to me. When I'm employed, I pay a hidden high rate, money that's part of my "hidden" salary. When I'm not employed, that coverage vanishes and the out-of-pocket for check-ups eats into my weekly unemployment checks. Paying $100-200 for blood work every few months adds up after a while...