Yes, Ronald Reagan Socialized Medicine In The United States
There are two dirty secrets in American politics. The first is that the GOP is the real “food stamp party”. The second is that we already pay for each other’s health care in the dumbest possible way, thanks to Ronald Reagan.
Every time an uninsured person waits to the last possible moment to go to the emergency room then incurs bills he or she will never, ever pay, that cost gets passed on to everyone else. Health care can’t be socialized because it’s naturally socialized. Unless we’re determined to let people die in the streets, we’re all in this together.
Every other industrialized country in the world has figured this out and, as a result, they spend less on health care than we do while covering far more of their population.
Obamacare is the first real step the federal government has ever taken to reform our broken health care system by getting a hold on the untenable growth in costs while saving many of the at least 26,000 Americans who die every year for lack of insurance.
Governors will play a huge role in how their states are covered. They will decide by December 14th if they want to set up their own insurance exchanges that will improve competitiveness and access, if not the federal government will do so. Then, thanks to the Supreme Court, they will decide if their state wants to expand Medicaid to cover significant chunk of the uninsured.
Republican activists are pressuring their governors to reject both the exchanges and the expansion. This will lead to a federal government takeover of their exchanges and millions of citizens remaining uninsured and passing the costs on to everyone else.
The right has feared that the full implementation of Obamacare would turn purple states blue by giving millions of newly insured voters a vested interest in protecting their coverage. But, if Republicans won’t expand Medicaid, they’re creating an opening for Democrats in red states that will allow the Dems to speak to young voters and women, especially.
It’s easy to vote or not vote against your interests when you’re trying to keep the gubbermints hands off your Medicare. But, when a guy who is actively denying you health insurance is on the ballot, you may find yourself prone to be swayed. People just need to be informed what they’re being denied.
The GOP has gerrymandered their way into a majority despite getting fewer votes from Congress than Democrats have. But demographics are changing and Medicaid is expanding. If Republican governors can’t be convinced to do the right thing, their party should pay the cost.
