Liberals in Congress are promising Americans that their “Medicare for All” proposals for government-controlled health care will expand access to care.
As Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., explains, “Obamacare was a first step in advancing this country, but I won’t rest until every American has a basic security that comes with having access to affordable health care.”
Likewise, Sen. Kamala Harris, the California Democrat, predicts, “Well, the idea is that everyone gets access to medical care. And you don’t have to go through the process of going through an insurance company, having them give you approval, going through the paperwork, all of the delay that may require.”
Universal access to health care—and no bureaucratic delays.
Though it sounds too good to be true, a plurality of Americans, according to the National Opinion Research Center, actually think it is. They report that 42 percent of respondents in a national survey believe that “Medicare for All” would increase access to doctors and hospitals, while only 24 percent expect such a program would reduce access.
This faith is misplaced. Britain and Canada provide their citizens with single-payer national health insurance, and the evidence is overwhelming: Access to government health insurance does not automatically translate into access to medical care, let alone the avoidance of frustrating and sometimes dangerous delays in medical treatment.
Consider the problem of delays. In the British National Health Service (NHS)—the grand-daddy of “single payer” health care—there are more than 4 million people awaiting hospitalization. To their credit, the British media has not been shy about reporting the shabby conditions in overcrowded and understaffed British hospitals, the denials or cancellations of surgeries, and the suffering of British patients.
For those British citizens who want to avoid care delays or denials by the NHS, there is the option of enrolling in British private health insurance. Such an option is especially desirable for British patients in need of highly specialized medical procedures, such as a coronary bypass or orthopedic surgeries.
In the United States, congressional liberals—in the text of their leading “Medicare for All” bills (H.R. 676 and S. 1804)—would outlaw virtually all private health insurance, including job-based health coverage. In short, they would deny every American the right to enroll in any alternative to the government plan.
Read the full story from The Daily Signal
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