The US and state governments spend nearly as much per capita on healthcare as Canada does right now
Total public spending on healthcare in the US is $1,747,200,000,000, which per capita is $5494.
Canadian per capita public healthcare spending is $5763. So, OK, we spend slightly less public money per capita than Canada does on health care (there was a point not too long ago when public per capita healthcare spending in the US exceeded Canada's public per capita healthcare spending).
That $5494 isn't going to insurance companies; they aren't what's causing this. That $5494 is going to providers (mostly physicians and hospitals, but also pharma and device manufacturers) that make much more in the US than they do in Canada.
If we paid providers in the US what they pay them in Canada, we could with current financing pay for all US health care with public money (or pay a portion of it like France does, and use those savings somewhere else).
We need provider reform, not financing reform. O'Malley's global budgeting plan is how we can get there.