My thought was more along the line - if we have a nationalized system (no state-to-state differences), what is the base line level of healthcare that should be made available to everyone. Should base line care include every new drug and procedure created by the medical industry? Do we include drugs that help conditions that could otherwise be addressed by diet & exercise? Do we include things like Viagra?
here in Europe we have governing bodies which decide on the therapeutic benefit of drugs, whether new or existing, say every 5 years, to verify whether they should still be eligible for reimbursement by the health insurance system or not - there is a list of drugs which are eligible/ineligible for reimbursement by the state system, based on their effectiveness, safety, public need, cost, etc. - and there are protocols/consensus/recommendations for the treatment of certain disorders, for instance diabetes, where doctors opt for lifestyle/diet changes first of all, then adjust treatment as necessary, always opting for the most cost/effective/safe option first of all, and then moving onto more costly treatments when other measures have failed... it's really not that complicated...
not all drugs are reimbursed, and sometimes, for instance in the UK, it can be a postcode lottery - for example, recently a new cancer drug was only available in certain NHS trusts and not others...
also, reimbursement levels vary - here in France, for instance, drugs which are reimbursed by the state, are only up to 65% reimbursed, and if you want/need full reimbursement you need to have a top-up health insurance to cover the remainder - a whole range of policies are available, from minimal reimbursement to full coverage... for instance, my top-up health insurance is about 155 euros a month and provides pretty much max. cover including ophthalmology and dental care/orthodontics, for a family of 4 - it has been worth every penny (although that is much MUCH less than my monthly state health insurance contributions which are incredibly expensive - around 6.5% of business profit for self-employed people, but that one contribution covers the whole family again, and i wouldn't want to be without it because it gives me a real sense of security for my family, but i do still complain like hell about the amount i have to pay because it really does hurt lol - it is worth it though when you see the break-down of the charges that have been covered)