Is Socialist Medicine really a "good idea" seeing as how the UK's is on the brink of collapse?

It's a lousy idea. Anytime you give government control of an entity, it becomes one more way for the government to invade your privacy, and control your behavior. Hillary has already talked about "requiring" yearly exams, and making yearly mammograms mandatory for women over 50. No to mention the "employment contingent upon having a health insurance plan", plan. Since there won't be enough money to support such a program, the liberals talk about adding a "sin tax" to cigarettes and alcohol. What do you think will happen with that? As cigarettes get too expensive, many people will quit. Sooner or later those sin taxes won't be able to support the cost of socialized health care. There will be measures in place to weed out certain individuals with "bad habits". If you smoke, don't count on getting health care treatment from Big Daddy Government. If you're overweight, it opens the door to the possibility of being denied care unless you participate in a mandatory exercise program. The liberals already control our freedoms. We can't smoke in public, and there is legislation in California right now that will ban smoking in your own vehicle with a minor present. Liberals want to control the public waaaaaayyy too much as it is. They couldn't resist the temptation to have us jerking on the end of a puppet string.