Why Fiscal Conservatives Should Love Medicare-for-All

[pinto]

Good, Old-Fashioned U.S. Socialized Medicine

By CAROL MILLER
CounterPunch
June 29, 2009

Call me old fashioned, but a true conservative is someone who conserves, dislikes wasting money and is offended by endless corporate bailouts by hard-working taxpayers. A fiscal conservative like me. As a public health professional, I want to see health dollars used to keep people healthy through public health and wellness programs, as well as provide medical care when it’s needed.

We have a health care crisis in the United States. Nearly 50 million people do not have health insurance, and they are our family and neighbors.

There are 500,000 medical bankruptcies every year. Most of these half million families had health insurance; at least they thought they did because every month they paid for insurance. Millions of people have learned the hard way that for-profit sickness insurance does not prevent financial ruin during a health crisis.

One of the worst lies thrown around every time Congress debates health care is that the U.S. will end up with socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is when the government owns and operates health facilities as well as pays the salaries of the doctors, nurses and the rest of the healthcare work force.

Let me say as clearly as possible — President Obama and the Congress are not discussing, introducing or enacting socialized medicine.

<snip>

Carol Miller is a New Mexico public and rural health expert. She has public service in Washington, D.C., in both Republican and Democratic administrations, including the Clinton White House. In 1994 she was the health reform policy adviser for the National Rural Health Association and the New Mexico Secretary of Health. Miller, a former Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service, has used both the uniformed services and veterans health care systems.

<the rest of the article at>

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/july/why_fiscal_conservat.php

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. print on fliers and distribute throughout the land. K&R

[OHdem10]

2. Never forget--Not one Republican voted for Medicare when it was

initiated by LBJ.

It goes against Conservative Philosophy.

The Republicans play games pretending they are for Health
Care.
The Game is Pretend they want to help with Health Care to
keep their constituents fooled. Throw out Red Herrings.
"The American People will not stand for government coming
between them and their doctors. It appears they are so
concerned for the people having their own doctor. Have you
ever noticed not one Democrat puts them on the spot. Exactly
what do you propose ( that is realistic ) that should be done
about the Millions who do not have a doctor?

Their strategy is stop any type of government assistance.

In order not to appear absolutely heartless they will help
the poorest of the poor.

If you believe something is wrong, you will not support it
GOP believes social programs are wrong. Personal Responsibilty.

[elocs]

3. Medicare is single payer health care and the government is the single payer.

The government does not own the hospitals and the doctors and staff are employees of the hospital and not the government. People choose and see their own doctors and the government is the single payer. Simple and millions of people are in that system.

A good example of socialized medicine in this country is VA health care. The hospitals are owned by the government and the doctors and staff in those hospitals are government employees. So military veterans may have socialized medicine, but it is not good enough for the rest of us? That begs the question then if socialized medicine is so bad, then why is it good enough for our veterans?

Socialized medicine is when the government owns and operates health facilities as well as pays the salaries of the doctors, nurses and the rest of the healthcare work force.

This is a clear fact that so many Americans are either genuinely ignorant about or they are simply disingenuous and know exactly what socialized medicine or socialized anything means, but for their own political and person reasons they choose to use the word "socialized" as the buzz scare word of today just as "communist" was in the 1950s. When I hear of socialized medicine being misused in this way I call them on it every time and they don't like it. Yes, light is a good disinfectant.

[pinto]

4. Yeah. The article makes a clear, readable distinction using VA as socialized medicine,

and medicare-for-all as affordable, efficient single payer system. It's a great clear cut rebuttal to the RW red herrings.