Yes, we need single payer.  But even here Kristof can't discuss the elephant in the room.  Many people working in health care related jobs make too much money.  The doctors, perhaps nurses, administrators, drug lords, insurance CEO's, etc.  They simply have raised charges to levels that it is hard for us to pay for.  If Kristof was serious about addressing the problems with American health care, he would have compared medical workers incomes in the various countries.  In the US the medical industry charges substantially more than elsewhere.  We have created, or allowed to arise, a group of very lucrative professions.  To get universal coverage that does not bleed us dry, we will have to mandate lower charges for health care services.  Neither republicans nor the fake we-care-about-you democrats will face up to the medical industry lobby.