Progressive Politics

Most people get insurance through their employer and most employers at least partially subsidize the cost. This doesn't show up on your paystub like a tax would so the only way you'd ever be aware of the true cost of your plan is if you got laid off and paid for continuation of benefits (COBRA).

It doesn't occur to most Americans that their paycheck might be higher if they had universal healthcare.

In the US, healthcare costs are double-dipping - you pay a lot when you're healthy, and you also pay extra when you get treatment. But considering how absurdly expensive US healthcare is when you're not sick, even the regular costs would probably be cheaper if the system was properly fixed.

The US has a ton of different plans with different disadvantages. All, with the exception of maybe some for government and military (but correct me if I'm wrong here), have deductibles that must be met and out-of-pocket expenses ("co-pays") for various things. This means that people pay their insurance premiums on top of out-of-pocket expense for everything. The overall cost of things in the US is much higher than many other countries as well. Which plans are offered also depend a lot on many factors. I've been out of the US for too long to go much into depth on that.