Medicare for All
There are approximately 330 million Americans. There are exactly 435 members off the House of Representatives. Mathematically, each 750,000 person segment of the US population chooses its “best and brightest” to represent them in Congress. How then did we end up with Marjorie Taylor Green governing us? Does a 750,000 person segment of North Carolina believe as Marjorie does that America is threatened by Nancy Pelosi’s “Gazpacho Police”? “Put down that sauce pan and step away from the stove, ma’am. Gazpacho must be served cold.”
750,000 Kentuckians sent Thomas Massie to Congress. They may agree with his recent statement on (you guessed it) Fox News. “Over 70% of Americans who died from COVID were on Medicare. How can the Democrats want Medicare For All?”
Can it be that Medicare recipients are particularly vulnerable to COVID because they generally suffer from a serious pre-existing medical condition — old age? You can look it up, Thomas. Old people in America go on Medicare. Old people in America die not only of COVID but other things, too. It’s not Joe Biden’s fault.
If Thomas really wanted to see if Medicare causes COVID, he can look north of the border. Canada has single-payer health insurance for everyone, old and young alike. They even call it Medicare. Guess what? Canada has only 1/3 as many COVID deaths per capita as we do. That’s fairly conclusive proof that Medicare does not cause COVID.
Canada has Medicare For All. Canada also spends only about half as much on health care per person than we do. Is there a correlation here? If people get free-of-cost medical check-ups, are problems discovered before they become serious (and seriously expensive)?
More to the point, Canadians live, on the average, 4.5 years longer than Americans.
Maybe those Democrats have a decent idea with that Medicare For All. If it costs half as much and allows you to live 4.5 years longer, why not give it a shot? Of course, Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Green and their cohort will never support it.
By Ed Dufton
