The Doctor Will See You Now

Medicare For All is a Bad Idea

When Obamacare was enacted in 2013, it had no real impact on me. Obamacare was not socialized medicine, but it was a beginning.

Although it didn’t affect me directly, I strongly objected to the requirement that all citizens buy health insurance. The Supreme Court was divided and the Chief Justice needed some excuse to side with the administration so he decided the mandate was actually a tax. This logic surprised both the administration and the taxpayers. The precedent was set, however, and the federal government was granted permission to dictate all citizens purchase health insurance. If we can be required to buy health insurance, what other products could they force us to buy? Can government require all of us to have our taxes prepared by a CPA firm? Can Congress force us to buy organic groceries? I do know the ruling opened the door to require us to obtain other types of insurance.

Not long after the health insurance mandate became law, I received notice that I had to buy flood insurance for our cabin on the Pend Oreille River. Our cabin is well above the 100-year flood level. I’m not even sure if it would have been threatened by the great ice age floods. Thus, we decided flood insurance was an unnecessary expense4. FEMA was in financial trouble, however, following hurricane Katrina, and we were forced to bail them out. Thank you, Obamacare.

As I said earlier, Obamacare was not actually socialized medicine because government did not pay for most of it. Anyone with a reasonable family income had to pay for there own insurance. The government only pays of those who can’t afford it. Those of us who can afford our own health insurance, and have had coverage for years, are not immediately impacted. As we progress more and more toward full government managed medicine, things will change.

I have been a product of government managed care for many years. When I was in the Air Force, I was required to be treated by military flight surgeons. For the most part the care was fine, but not always. I once had some sort of blockage in my left ear. I went to the on-call flight surgeon who assumed I wanted to be excused from flying for a few days. I’m not sure why he came to that conclusion, but I do know that he told me to lose ten pounds, quit smoking and get back to work. I did what I was told and lost 90% of the hearing in my ear. Years later a medical investigation revealed I had suffered a constriction in the small blood vessel that feeds the nerves to my ear. An early diagnosis and treatment would have saved my ear. I was lucky to have only lost the hearing in one ear. I had a good friend who went to the flight surgeon for has annual physical. He had a mole on his back that itched, so the doctor took a biopsy and sent him home. The biopsy went to the lab, and the results were filed in his medical record. When the doctors pulled his records for the next annual physical, they discovered the year-old biopsy results. He had skin cancer. By this time the cancer had metastasized and he died within six months. The government was not accountable. The incident was treated as an accident, his widow received no more than normal benefits.

My Air Force retiree benefits do not include family dental, so my wife goes to a civilian dentist at our expense. Her care has not been affected by the pandemic. My dental care is provided by the VA; but several clinics, including dental, have been closed since February 2020. I am 11 months overdue for my annual exam, and the clinic has been open for emergencies only. I am having issues with my front teeth, but it is more urgent care than emergency. I am informed to call every month to see when they can get me in. I called this week and was informed the clinic is now open for two urgent care appointments per day. Patients are required to arrive two hours before the appointment and receive a COVID 19 test before they can be treated. Dentists who work for the VA get paid whether they see patients or not. Welcome to socialized medicine.