I can only report on my own experience but the Canadian system has always worked well for me and my family. It does consume a sizeable chunk of our tax dollars though - maybe as much as 10% of our taxes goes to health care. I don't know what that would be as a % of income - probably only a few percent on average.
I read an analysis a few years ago that said you get the most bang for your buck from a centrally administered health care system and at the time it seemed quite convincing. That was before the fall of communism of course...
