That's about as succinct a summary of exactly what the principles were when nationalized health was adopted in Canada as i've ever seen, Joe. The CCF and Social Credit had varying rates of electoral success--the CCF doing best in the prairies and Social Credit stumbling along, dying on the vine, and eventually surviving as a viable party only in Québec. The Tories eventually killed CCF by constantly and wrongly portraying them as Communists--but in their death they were reborn as the NDP--although NDP hasn't had all that great a record at the national level.
The Canadian Liberal Party, which is about as liberal as a Texas Democrat, was obliged to co-opt the appeal of CCF and Social Credit with the Canadian Family Plan, the first "welfare" system in North America. But it didn't go far enough, and eventually the Liberals introduced the health plan. It was modeled on the CCF agenda, because the Liberals otherwise didn't have a clue how to make it work. The CCF model followed exactly the line of reasoning you make here.
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation held a convention at Regina in July, 1933, and issued the Regina Manifesto, with Section Eight concerning medical insurance:
The CCF wrote:With the advance of medical science the maintenance of a healthy population has become a function for which every civilized community should undertake responsibility. Health services should be made at least as freely available as are educational services today. But under a system which is still mainly one of private enterprise the costs of proper medical care, such as the wealthier members of society can easily afford, are at present prohibitive for great masses of the people. A properly organized system of public health services including medical and dental care, which would stress the prevention rather than the cure of illness should be extended to all our people in both rural and urban areas. This is an enterprise in which Dominion, Provincial and Municipal authorities, as well as the medical and dental professions can cooperate.
The CCF won crucial seats across Canada in its brief history (before the Tories smeared them out of national existence and the NDP was born from the wreckage), and Tommy Douglas and the CCF formed the provincial government of Saskatchewan in 1944. His provincial health care plan became a model for other provinces, and was the basis for the national plan implemented by the Liberals under Lester Pearson.
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