Recently, upon return of “Veep,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus discussed her recent breast cancer battle and talked about how grateful she is about her access to health care, and that it occurred to her that everyone should have health insurance. So she kind of says it to morning talk shows to great applause: “shouldn’t everyone have health insurance?”
Big sigh.
Then we have Bernie coming with his slogan of “Medicare for All,” which makes me mental. We don’t talk about Bernie in my household, because Husband is in deep, passionate favor of him, whereas my reaction is decidedly less favorable. First of all, when people say “Medicare for All,” does that mean they mean equal health insurance coverage for all citizens? A socialist system like Canada where everyone is the same? Is that what Americans really want? For us all to be equal? I truly don’t think so. Canada works because EVERYONE waits ten months for an MRI, and wealthy/middle-class Canadians drive down to NY for an MRI like that week. Canada benefits from the extremely expensive but convenience of the US system.
I did not think much of the Affordable Care Act when it first came out. The website crashed, it seemed kind of wack, but it has grown on me. In the states that adopted it, health insurance coverage boomed. In New York, 95% of us are now insured. I find that absolutely incredible! 95%? 95%! Are you kidding me? The remaining 5% includes illegal immigrants, so I’d say the ACA is pretty damn successful, and with all these peeps taking pot shots at it and it continuing to survive, I am extraordinarily impressed with Obama. We are still benefitting form his leadership.
I think it will continue to get targeted because it’s so associated with Obama. I’m so discouraged. Legislation that is years in the making get dinged all the time. In my alumni mag, I read someone from SLC had finalized a nuclear disarmament agreement from ten years of effort with Iran and Trump dismantled it. I see that a lot. Where existing work gets destroyed in favor of someone else getting to do something with their name on it.
Is this the state of American politics and government? Tribalism? Jockeying for credit? gross. That’s why I’m not pro-Bernie. He says he’s for the people (and I think that is true) but doesn’t mention the massive ego he has to want to be president. (If he recognized that ego drive, I wonder if i’d like him better. Probably.)
*sigh*
[This is an old post from the season premier of Veep. As of today, July 14, 2019, I’m feeling Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. I love that we have a plethora of articulate Demo presidential candidates and I do not give a rat’s arse that they are pitching Medicare for All. So what. Sounds great. Tough to execute but so is everything. And as much as I have grown to respect the ACA, so what. It’s legislation and you can’t be over attached to anything. Why not experiment. Democracy itself is an experiment..one that has gone horribly in this last Presidential election, but hopefully, things will work out for the better in the next election. At a minimum, it is a relief to hear intelligent voices in the Democrats debate.]