The Washington Free Beacon wonders why 15 Democratic senators, some of them with presidential aspirations, choose to, in effect, follow Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont off a cliff by supporting a “Medicare for all” bill. The bill, essentially a government takeover of the American healthcare system, is a free gift for Republicans and will assure the reelection of President Donald Trump in 2020.
Government run health care costs too much
The bill apparently does not have a funding mechanism, as well it might, because one estimate suggests that government run healthcare in American would cost $32 trillion for the first ten years.
The massive cost would either mean an economy crippling tax increase or else a large amount of rationing. Likely Single Payer would mean both.
People thrown off their insurance plans
The dirty little secret for health care reform is that most people get their health insurance through their work and are well satisfied with what they have. Sanders and the 15 democrats have not figured out how to sell a scheme in which people do not get to keep their plans or doctors but rather have to accept a mediocre government plan that includes waiting lists, rationing, and death panels.
Waiting lists a feature and not a bug
The campaign for a government takeover of healthcare is so dysfunctional that a podcast Sanders had with a Canadian doctor highlighted the infamous waiting lists that country’s system has.
People have to wait for upwards to a year for procedures that are considered “non-essential” such as a knee replacement or seeing a specialist to investigate the cause of a migraine. Sanders apparently wanted to tout what he thinks are the advantages of the Canadian system but instead highlighted one of the features that even Canadians find to be unacceptable.
The bottom line
Democrats are embracing single payer because their base demands it and some polling data suggest that it is supported by small majorities in the United States. However, they seem to have walked into a trap that Republicans and conservatives are bound to exploit.
Imagine being Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, a person many Democrats are touting for 2020 because she is a young, fresh face.
California rejected single payer health care because it would cost too much and no one could figure how to pay for it.
Harris has embraced a similar system in Sanders’ bill and is going to be burned by it. The same will be said for other Democrats with presidential dreams such as Elizabeth Warren, Corey Booker, and of course Sanders himself. In short, Democrats have thrown away their chances of winning the presidency in 2020 with great enthusiasm.
