Has McCain been on socialized medicine his entire life ??

[kentuck]

Since he was the son and grandson of Admirals in the US Navy, was he covered by government insurance as a child? Since he is now almost 72 years old, has be been covered by socialized medicine his entire life? Just curious..

[Hangingon]

1. That is a huge stretch of the definition of socialized medicine.

[kentuck]

5. Military medicine is not socialized medicine??

How so? It's all paid for by taxpayers.

[newfie11]

14. It is for me. I have 100% free care with no deductible including meds

[Orangepeel]

9. it's the type of healthcare even the most liberal Democrats advocate, which Rs call "socialized"

Nobody wants the government to be providers of healthcare, but to subsidize insurance to some degree (whether it be public like Medicare, or private, which is probably what McCain's family has always had).

[Vincardog]

16. I do not want subsidize insurance I want Universal Single Payer Health CARE. Kick the parasitic

insurance companies to the curb, see in immediate 30% savings in our health care spending..

[Orangepeel]

20. medicare is insurance.

It is insurance provided by the government. the government does not provide healthcare.

[Vincardog]

27. I do not want the government to provide health care I want them to pay for it.

[Orangepeel]

29. So do I. But I don't want anyone to call it "socialized medicine"

because it is not. It is government run non-profit insurance that everyone has. Maybe, it is "socialized insurance."

[Vincardog]

30. "socialized medicine" is good enough for every one in the military. It is good enough for our

elected officials. I do not give a flying truck what anyone calls it. I want the government to pay medical care for everyone. I want to Insurance parasites to be out of business in American health care.

[tsuki]

15. Military brat here. It was socialized medicine in my day.

Altho, I recently had a "discussion" with a retired military person who was kicked off the military plan when he turned 65 and enrolled in Medicare with co-pay. Mad as a hatter, he was.

I opined that perhaps socialized medicine was what everyone need in the US.

He got mighty huffy and stated that HE did not believe in socialized medicine.

I told him he had had socialized medicine all his life.

"YOU don't understand. MY taxes paid for my medical care."

And I said, mine taxes pay for your medical care. That's socialized medicine.

He repeated the MY taxes BS again.

The guy spent 20 years in the Air Farce, and every time he opens his mouth, welfare, SChip, unions and Americans that won't do the work that foreigner do, are his whipping boys. A typical Rethug, everything wrong with this country is everyone else's fault. He's pure as the driven snow, and yes, he expects to be "thanked" for his 20 years of service.

So, I unloaded on him. I let him know that I paid for his medical commissary, BX, Class Six, Gasoline privlegdes. That MY taxes paid for his have salary retirement after 20 years of service, and if that wasn't enough thanks, he was an ungrateful SOB.

I said some more stuff, thought I may have gone overboard, but the people around me had that small smile that said "get him."

One of the reasons why we will never have single payer insurance is the retired Republicans Air Force around here. They are totally against it, until you take it away from them.

[elehhhhna]

21. okay, federally funded and managed. how's that?

[fascisthunter]

28. I Think You is in Denial (nt)

[DesertFlower]

2. probably. nt

[VeraAgnes]

3. POW's get special military attention as it is.....

My grandfather is a POW.....He was in WWII, his plane shot down in Germany and was in a camp. He said there are no longer any rats in Germany today...........because he ate them all.:wow:

[Fovea]

4. And had we his health problems

we would not be alive now.
Just like Dick Cheney.

[brentspeak]

6. Veterans, especially wounded ones, deserve all the government health care they can get

However, McCain is just an idiot to advocate against a national health care system.

[wuushew]

7. Well I don't know who was paying his medical bills 1954-1958.

His bio on Wikipedia says he liked to box, so I can only assume he sustained some level of injury in that sport while at the Naval Academy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. The taxpayer did

[wuushew]

12. Naval Academy pays every expense you have?

They consider you in the navy based on the presumption that you will graduate?

What happens to those who don't graduate? What if a cadet got hit by a drunk driver and became a vegetable for the rest of his or her life? Would Naval "honor" dictate that all appropriate medical care be provided?

There must be some degree of rationing or cut off point.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. While a cadet is in the Academy all costs are covered

period.

If a cadet does not graduate, then they are sent to the fleet, after basic as enlisted to serve a time in the navy to pay the Taxpayer for their education. that mandatory tour is six years long and time in the Academy does not count.

A few remain a full career and end up as Chiefs or Warrants.

If a cadet should be hit by a drunk driver and he was drunk... it goes to military justice. If the investigation clears the cadet, then the thing will end up as part of the VA but you the taxpayer will pay one way or another for the drunk driving accident.

[rurallib]

8. What a great question to ask him on the campaign trail

If he makes an appearance near you please do it. I would love to hear his answer.

[JohnnyLib2]

26. Absolutely.

Over and over.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. One simple answer

by the definition used by the cons, YES

First Champus, as a military dependent he was taken care off in Navy Facilities

As a cadet he was taken care off by the military, as well as his years of active duty

the only period where he MIGHT not gotten that care, though was eligible for the VA, was after he came back from Nam and briefly was in the private sector, and of course as a POW...

Once he was elected to the Senate, once again he was taken care off at Bethesda

So your answer is YES... and since his dad and grand dad were Admirals, he also got VIP care.

[Bravo Zulu]

13. Would mcsame qualify for coverage

under his medical plan? Just asking!

[ThomWV]

17. The health insurance plan he has in the Senate is not socialized medicine

Its just health insurance, no different than the plans offered by thousands of companies all over this country, in fact not as good as many of them.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. He actually has medicare and qualified for Tricare (champus in his day)

and the VA.

Unlike those who didn't serve he did have access to socialized medicine... and in fact, may have used that since the co-pays are far lower.. and if at Bethesda non-existent

[nichomachus]

22. By GOP standards, he has socialized medicine

The GOP calls any government sponsored, single payer system "Socialized medicine." So McCain can't have it both ways. He has government sponsored, taxpayer supported, single payer health-care.

If we all had that, the country would be better off.

This is not "socialized medicine," but that's what the GOP calls it -- so they're stuck with it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. He was raised in the most perfect American socialist enclave.

The Canal Zone.

[PA Democrat]

24. Have you seen McCain's plan for the rest of us?

$2500 a year tax credit for singles, $5000 a year for families. Oh, and you can kiss your employer-provided health care plan goodbye, because the cost of employees health insurance will no longer be tax deductible.

And if you have a preexisting condition you're still shit out of luck because the insurance profiteers will still be allowed to exclude people on that basis.

Info here:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/11/mccain.healthcare.ap/index.html

[loyalsister]

25. I resent that term

But, I will acknowledge that public has been footing the bill for his health care. Good thing we yes we were there when he needed us.