From what I've heard Canada is better than the UK for health service (and social services in general), it doesn't surprise me that yours works. Emergency care is one area where I agree that there should be an automatic system, I've been appalled by reports of Americans being not treated because they don't have insurance (or don't have it with them when they are injured), but non-urgent and 'elective' treatment is another matter, at least the UK system is slow and a "postcode lottery" (i.e. it depends where you live and what your GP is like).

Why isn't it like that for every American? Because a lot of them don't want it. A lot of non-politicians strongly oppose a 'tax' or forcing people to pay for it (some of them on my f-list), many on principle, some because they (think they) can't afford it, and others because it's "someone else's problem". The same for education.