Healthcare reform is shaping up to be a major issue in the 2020 Presidential election. Nearly all of the Democrat candidates for President are supporting “Medicare for all”, or at least what some refer to as a “public option”. They say that Medicare is a popular form of healthcare and should be made available to the public to compete with the private insurers. Some candidates go so far as to say that ALL private health insurance companies should be abolished, which would result in around 150 million Americans losing their policy and being forced into a government run healthcare program. This would put millions of people out of work, when private companies close. These democrat candidates say that care would be “free”, and cost less. They admit that while people would no longer have to pay premiums, that their taxes would go up to pay for Medicare. Estimates are that the cost would be over 30 TRILLION dollars in the first decade.
This idea that a “public option” (Medicare) would increase competition in the healthcare market is dishonest. The federal government does not have to compete in a free market. They can set the prices below the market to force people to sign up. Once they do so, they will drive the private healthcare insurance companies out of business.
What happens next is rationing. You will be told what type of care you are permitted to get, by a government employee. They will set limits on how much can be spent by the government for all sorts of care. In other countries with nationalized healthcare, there is rationing. Ask any Canadian, or British citizen about this. Obamacare was supposed to lower costs by $2,500 per person…the reality is it increased it by thousand per person per year. We were told “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor”, and, “if you like your insurance, you can keep your insurance”. Both turned out to be lies by our former President. Do you trust the government to decide on what treatment you will get? Do you want to be told for example, “that type of chemotherapy is too expensive”, or, “you are too old for coronary bypass surgery/joint replacement, etc.”
Having spent a fair amount of time working at a Veterans Hospital when I was in training, I saw first hand what government run healthcare looks like. Ask those veterans you know about their experiences. It isn’t always as it should be.
How many doctors will retire early? What young person will chose to go into a career as a physician if this system becomes government run? How will this affect your care as you age?
So, with an election year upon us, ask yourself. Do you really want your healthcare taken over by the government? Do you want to give up your freedom to chose what care or what doctor/hospital you go to? Do you really trust politicians to take over healthcare? I don’t, and hope you don’t either.