So every Democrat running for President right now is preaching about the awesomeness of Medicare for All. GUESS WHAT — IT IS GOING TO BLOW CHUNKS!!
How do I know? I grew up in Canada and Americans misunderstand the Canadian Healthcare system – A LOT!!
How else do I know? I spent YEARS as a spouse of an active duty military member and the “free” medical SUCKED ASS.
How else do I know? My husband is a Veteran and the VA SUCKS
GUESS WHAT — Medicare for all will SUCK and it will be a disaster. Here are my details.
The Canadian system IS NOT FREE. This is a misconception Americans make and it is what Democrats running for President tell you to make you think you will no longer pay a bill to your insurance company. The Canadian system is ONLY FREE TO USE. That means when you walk into the ER, you don’t walk out with a bill. BUT, every paycheck you will have a deduction for medical taken off your paycheck. And you will pay much higher taxes as well. This is a nice system for people when they do find themselves sick because they don’t get a bill every time they go but it is extremely expensive for everyone for their entire life. And if you are working, you are paying. My Dad is almost 80 and still works part time because he likes it (he actually works part time at the business he sold) and he still pays. He no longer pays into his pension plan but he is still paying a medical bill so don’t for a second think that it is free. And it won’t be free in the US — the money has to come from somewhere.
The Military get “free healthcare” for themselves and their families. This is often POOR HEALTHCARE. Sorry, but it is. Doctors do not need to be Board Certified to work on military people or their families and you are prohibited by law from suing for malpractice (there are some cases in the courts right now challenging that one but we shall see). And a lot of the time, you do not even see a doctor. You see a PA or a NP. And you can ONLY go to their providers. When we first moved to one base, you had to enter a lottery for your annual physical. So as a woman, that means no cancer screening, no pap, no mammogram and basically none of the things to keep you healthy or prevent disease because they were too full. In order to make themselves less full, the military medical system purged most older veterans over to the VA system so they overwhelmed that system and broke promises that veterans would not pay for their health care.
So while you are wishing for lower bills, don’t wish for Medicare for all — because it is going to suck!
If they truly wanted to lower your medical insurance bill, they could:
– make mental health care optional (I have no family members that have ever used this so why pay for it, those who need it can pay for it)
– make drug treatment optional (again, nobody with addictions in my family or that I even know so optional would be great)
– make pregnancy an optional coverage (it used to be optional and really it is sexist to insist that women have to pay it like we aren’t smart enough to know ourselves and some women are too old to have children or cannot have them and they are still required under Obamacare to pay – stupid!)
Obamacare by adding mandatory coverages took away our freedoms of choice and Medicare for all will take even more!