Where I live in Germany we have a system I would characterise as somewhere in-between a fully socialized single payer system and the American system (you have insurance companies you choose between, but you're required to have some kind of insurance, and there are a set of "public" insurances that must meet a certain standard at a certain price). But here I can't buy a sugar free Fritz Limo, nor go to a popular bar or club without inhaling smoke.
Obviously countries can enact such policies without socialized health care, and things are not all sunshine and rainbows in the NHS. But I reckon that waiting around until there's a healthy populace before bringing in a better health system might not necessarily be the best strategy.
too many double negations?
where I live in Germany, smoking is plain banned in clubs. and sure there are sugar free drinks both on the menu and in shops.
so I don't get what you mean?
That's basically Obamacare. Except in the US most people still get health insurance through their employers.
Strictly speaking the incentives don't change much. People have a strong incentive to stay healthy no matter what system is in place, and the insurance companies have a strong incentive to make sure people know about the risks of sugar drinks etc.
If you're on a public insurance in Germany, you rarely pay any substantial copay, and there's no concept of a deductible. Not only that, but the price of the policy is a percentage of your income (capped at some absolute upper limit), so if you make little, you pay little.
Prices paid by public insurers to healthcare providers are fixed, and even the private insurers aren't allowed to pay providers more than a certain multiple of the public rate.
In other words, in Germany, the government has a much stronger hand in setting prices for both patients and insurers than under the Obamacare system.
For example, countries with socialized healthcare have significantly more walkable and bikeable cities. That’s not a coincidence.
The most plausible link would be if people couldn't afford cars under a socialised healthcare system; but I doubt anyone is going to try and argue that seriously.
No. It does not. Not "suddenly" or "magically".
What does happen is that social health concerns and advice feed back into other public policy making decisions.
Advertising agencies get contracts for campaigns to improve health awareness, walking and biking paths become routine considerations in city planning, etc.
This takes decades to iterate through from non existent to commonplace.
You might like to check whether the layout of the citys involved were decided on before or after the invention of the car - and the introduction of universal health care - before you post anything. That'll probably come up.