I disagree with your healthcare analogy. It is in the interest of the many for the US to have widespread, cheap, available healthcare. It would give our citizens longer, healthier lives, which from a purely economic standpoint would allow them to work longer and increase GDP.

The US already spends significantly more per capita on healthcare than countries like the UK that have socialized it. Right now, the needs of the few (for insurance companies to make huge amounts of money) are outweighing the needs of the many. I suspect that will change over the coming decades, but there's a long political battle to fight before we see any real change.

Edit: one of many sources for info on healthcare spending http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/dec/...