> In the US, my insurance was billed 14k USD for a simple diagnostic procedure (stress echocardiogram) that normally would cost a few hundred dollars. I ended up being on the hook for over 2000 USD.

I agree that the insurance aspect of the system is difficult and could use mild regulation. But I think that the single-provider nature of "universal healthcare" is probably what causes issues with the Canadian system, more than the single payer aspect...