Now for the bad news....
There is no political will to make the kinds of changes that are necessary. Healthcare will almost certainly be demogogued to death. The only viable political solution will be to essentially create a two-tier system. The first tier will be European-style socialized medicine crafted out of the current Medicare benefits program. The benefits will be means tested, however. The second tier will be more market-oriented and open to those who can afford it. The requirement to join Medicare at 65 will be eliminated and private insurance will be able to enter the market again. This will be very expensive, but there is certainly a significant segment of the population that will opt for this choice. I also expect to see the supply side augmented by a growing offshore medical services industry including cruise ships converted for use as floating hospitals. Some Caribbean countries will become new healthcare meccas as have certain cities in India and Thailand.
You’re right, there is no “political will.” I spilled a lot of ink above but all of it boils down to a very simple idea: Americans as a whole want the government to take care of their problems. Until this changes things will only get worse.