We haven’t heard much about Medicare for All recently, but it is far from dead. If you’ve forgotten, Medicare for All is the socialized medicine plan of Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders pushed his plan hard during the presidential campaign of 2020, but even the Democratic Party couldn’t stomach it so they made sure Joe Biden won the party’s nomination. They knew Sanders’ plan would never be accepted in the general election.
Since then, we haven’t heard much more about Medicare for All. The Covid pandemic changed the subject and demonstrated once again why the government should not be in charge of your healthcare. The tsunami of misinformation about Covid treatment driven by political agendas shows us what happens when the government gets between you and your doctor.
But lest you think Senator Sanders has given up on his plan, think again. Recently he held a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the subject of Medicare for All – again. Grace-Marie Turner, writing for The Galen Institute, says she and Professor Charles Blahous of George Mason University’s Mercatus Center were called as witnesses by Republicans on the committee.
Turner says, “The divisiveness on this issue is so clear it’s hard to find any center ground. That’s largely because the passion for Medicare for All is so detached from reality: The Left insists nurses and doctors would spend almost all their time on patient care, not forms and paperwork. Administrative costs would virtually vanish by shutting down insurance companies and other private players. Health costs would plummet while life expectancy would dramatically increase as everyone has access to all the care they need any time.”
I have highlighted this last line since it clearly shows how divorced from reality these advocates for socialized medicine really are. The truth about socialized medicine is well-known to anyone who objectively studies the subject. In every nation where socialized medicine has been implemented, including Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, Cuba and others, three things have been consistently found:
- Reduced access to healthcare
- Rationing of healthcare
- Reduced quality of healthcare
It’s really quite simple. When the government is allowed to dictate who receives healthcare and how much treatment they receive, they cut costs by rationing access and eligibility for treatments. The inevitable result is reduced quality of healthcare. I have written extensively on this subject in the past and I refer you to my blog search box where you can find much more information by simply entering the words “Medicare for All.”
Turner tells us the Republican committee members asked pertinent questions. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked, “If the U.S. system is so horrible, why are so many people coming to America?” “Why aren’t we leaving to go to someplace else where you don’t die in the streets and where you don’t have to live under “one of the most disgusting examples of the healthcare on the planet? – as suggested by Senator Sanders.
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) talked about governments’ “miserable failures” in response to the Covid-19 pandemic on testing, shutdowns, school closures, restrictions on access to treatments, and more. “Why in the world would anybody put government more in charge of health care? What makes you think there would be less bureaucracy with government-run healthcare? There would be greater bureaucracy, more rules, less innovation, and higher costs.”
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) reinforced that Medicare for All “would abolish the current Medicare program and make private insurance illegal. It would have the federal government deciding which procedures you get and when you get them. Do you want the government to makes these choices for you?” These are all good questions for which there are no good answers. Medicare for All needs to die, but Bernie won’t let it go.
