have government provide the care and pay for it, but a lot of rich democracies, germany, switzerland, japan, belgiumthe netherlands, cover everybody in the private system, private docs, private hospitals. private insurance. germany, swit zer land, they don't have medicare. people stay with the private insurer to the grave. >> the swiss were getting fed up with their private insurance system in the early 1990s. costs were rising, premiums were disproportionately higher for women and the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions had trouble getting coverage. some were foregoing insurance altogether. >> the people were flying out of the insurance, so we had to stop this. >> dreyfuss, who would later become switzerland's first woman president, pushed for a law that required everyone to buy insurance, gave subsidies to the poor, and stopped insurance companies from rejecting people for their medical history. sound familiar? that's exactly what president obama's w would do. but in switzerland, it was an uphill battle. the law passed parliament, but barely squeaked by in a national referendum with 52