My view as an outsider: Take a look at every other civilised western country and you'll find they all have universal health care. In fact, I'd actually call it a staple hallmark of western civilisation. As an Australian, I am both disgusted and amazed that some Americans have been brainwashed into thinking it's a bad thing! Look at Canada, Australia, NZ, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, UK or most members of the EU -treating healthcare as a basic human right is a smart and sensible idea. America's current healthcare system is a joke to anyone but 50% of the typical American consumers. Now, couple that with the nutritional quality of the average American diet and it's a recipe for disaster and bankruptcy. How many unreported Americans put off treating simple diseases for fear of the cost? Tax isn't a bad thing if it goes into common/shared infrastructure. Roads, schools, hospitals, etc are all good examples. Thinking you have 'freedom', by paying lower taxes is a logical fallacy, particular when you look at your current militarised, ill-educated, police force, plus propaganda machine.. sorry.. media and political system. You already have large corporate.. sorry.. government controls in place, yet you consider yourselves free.. Yes. Free to go bankrupt. Free to be homeless. Notice that neither of these states preclude you from government control. You are also free to be f*cked over by your own system. Americans suffer their government possibly more than any other western civilisation and yet some of you still consider yourselves 'land of the free!' .. OK, granted that was once the case, but you are deluding yourself if you still think you still live in a semblance of that shared dream. Might as well reap some of the benefits of having a large government and construct a basic safety net for yourself and your fellow Americans. Global experiences have shown it might just make your part of the world a nicer, safer place.
The U.S. government is awful, as you correctly point out, so it would seem illogical to put them in control of healthcare. The typical U.S. diet is awful, as you correctly point out, which along with higher violent crime and accident rates, accounts for nearly all of the disparity between average lifespans between the U.S. and countries with more strictly controlled government healthcare. Most people who need basic/simple-type care in the U.S. are also the people who eat crap and are obese. They don't need to see the doctor, they need to see a nutritionist. Also, countries with government controlled health care are running up huge debts and going broke (Greece, Spain, EU, etc...) It will be interesting to see how that "fundamental human right" holds up when the money runs out. Do you think there will be restrictions on healthcare? Will pensions or vacation time be cut first?
Also, it is hard to understand how it is a fundamental human right, when
smokers are being denied treatment in the UK, and heart surgery patients in
Quebec die while waiting for their treatment? It doesn't seem like a fundamental human right if it can just be taken away? In the U.S. the traditional view of "rights" are natural rights - what a person is born with (you can speak, walk/travel, associate with whom you like, you own what you personally grow/create). These cannot be taken away, except through force and the threat of deadly violence. In many other legal traditions, it seems "rights" are whatever politicians dream-up and promise to the population. These things can be modified and taken away (especially when the money runs out).
Also, you are correct that the U.S. is not the "land of the free". It is becoming the most militarized nation on the planet. On average, the government is grossly inefficient and incompetent. What is really scary is that the laws and regulations are extremely voluminous and complex while at the same time arbitrary. It is estimated that the average U.S. citizen commits 3 felony crimes everyday just going about their daily business. We are all sitting ducks, just waiting to get "shot" by corrupt prosecutors, police, or politicians. And for those who are unlucky enough to get caught in an arbitrary legal trap, the U.S. penalties are the stiffest and most punitive among advanced nations. It is unconscionable that so many millions of non-violent people are sitting in prison.
Now just come back to Obamacare. It is a vast and complex set of new rules/laws for getting insurance and medical treatment in the U.S. It creates new huge bureaucracies to handle all of the new regulations. Considering it is a broke, violent, and incompetent government, I hope you can see why some people in the U.S. might be opposed.
Pragmatically speaking, it would be better if it was a simple single payer taxed system. The proper way to do this in the U.S. would be to add the tax to the constitution, such as the income tax was added. That way, people would actually have a direct vote on the issue, instead of the being forced to accept the crap coming out of Washington D.C. right now. that way the people could decide for themselves if it was a "right". Pragmatically, the single payer-tax system would be simpler, but I would still vote no, for the reasons stated earlier. If it is not a natural right, then it can be taken (or voted away). Also, government handouts create dependency. I have always viewed a better future as one where as many people as possible were independent able to care for themselves, families, and communities.