The House Budget Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday on the Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single-Payer Health Care System. As a pre-emptive strike, Job Creators Network sent an urgent letter to the panel warning them what could result from the "socialist" system that has been pushed by the likes of progressive politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has introduced his own “single-payer” bill, told CBS News that his plan would “get rid of insurance companies.” Specifically, he warned those who currently have employer-based insurance “you’re going to have to change that” because “all people will be covered by Medicare.” The implications of Sanders’s statement are undeniable: “Single-payer” means the complete abolishment of all private health insurance. That will be devastating for America’s small business owners and their employees.
According to a 2015 report from the National Small Business Association, 65 percent of small businesses offer health insurance to their employees. This means that abolishing private health insurance would eliminate healthcare choices for up to 38 million Americans employed by small businesses. Over 200 million Americans, in total, will be impacted.
JCN, which represents business owners and entrepreneurs, goes on to explain how other countries have suffered under single payer and that they're not worth copying.
"Under Canada’s single-payer system, nearly one million Canadians are stuck on healthcare wait lists," JCN reminds the committee. "More than 60,000 Canadian patients flee each year to escape their wait line, mostly going to the U.S."
"Under the United Kingdom’s single-payer system, wait lists have ballooned to 4.1 million people, with the average person waiting 18 weeks for necessary treatment. Applying that number to the U.S. would be the equivalent of having 20 million Americans on wait lists."
“Whether you call it ‘single-payer’ or ‘Medicare for All,’ the fact is, the Democratic Party is racing full-speed into socialism," said JCN President Alfredo Ortiz. "What Budget Committee Democrats are considering is not just a government takeover of America’s healthcare system, but a ban on all private health insurance. Far-left Democrats don’t seem to realize that 200 million Americans rely on private health insurance, including 38 million small business employees. And then there’s the financial impact of ‘single-payer,’ which is estimated at $33 trillion. Now is the time for reasonable Democrats to speak out and push back against ‘single-payer.’ Americans deserve a real healthcare debate, not just a left-wing wish list of failed ideas.”
