Is it not possible to have a rational debate about health care in the United States without hysteria and name-calling? It appears not. Opponents of a state-run health care plan accuse its supporters of wanting to impose "a Nazi system". If Obama is not careful, he will follow in Clinton’s failed footsteps.

Many people in the UK with serious health problems would have died or been bankrupted without NHS care. Fact. David Cameron’s son - sadly, now dead - was a case in point, but haemophiliacs, for example, could never afford the cost of private care. And you can be sure that an insurance-based scheme would be priced out of their reach.

Of course, the NHS is a vast monolithic structure. Its services are bound to disappoint somebody. Needless to say, the state can’t afford to supply an infinite number of new drugs and technologies to everybody. It would appear, however, to be able to provide basic care to those in need. In the UK, the principle of free universal health care is pretty sacrosanct. Even Thatcher never tried privatisation, although I wager that sometimes in her bath she fantasised about it.

When you’re young you don’t think much about health. When I was 20, I broke my ankle severely. I recall the wonderful treatment I received in hospital. I also remember thinking that I would have to pay for something, even if it was only the crutches given to me on my departure. I wondered how I could afford this as a mere student. Of course, there was no charge.

As Michael Moore showed in his documentary, Sicko, it’s all free. Moore also showed that British NHS doctors, contrary to transatlantic propaganda, are well remunerated for their services and highly motivated.

The debate over health care is interesting because it illuminates the American psyche. Forget socialism - that has never been on the agenda for them. In American terms, the late Ted Kennedy was on the extreme left, their equivalent of Tony Benn, but Kennedy never "outed" himself as a socialist. American culture is avowedly individualistic. Words and phrases like "socialised", "universal" and "equality of opportunity", inspire horror, not just in the wealthy but also in the middle and working classes.

Their culture is deeply rooted in aspiration, the belief that if you work hard, you can fulfil the American dream and fight your way out of poverty. But perhaps Americans should sometime stop to wonder if they’re being peddled unrealistic goals. For the millions of ordinary people deprived of basic health care there has to be a better way. And if the word "social" fills them with such dread, then they can always call it something else. "Mutually dependent health care" perhaps?