Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing the single-payer health care initiative hard. The issue has fallen onto the backburner in the news cycle, but the hard left of the Democratic Party wants this—even some wanting to use it as a litmus test regarding candidate support. The more establishment wing is skeptical. In fact, some of President Obama’s former economic adviser feels that this whole push is going to be a total disaster for Democrats. And for good reason: when you tell voters that their current health insurance plans will be cannibalized by Bernie-care—support for Medicare-for-all drops like a rock. The price tag is another issue.
We all know this program is insanely expensive. The Washington Post editorial board noted the high cost; they also noted it would be a train wreck for the working poor. Even Sanders knows this aspect about the cost, which is why he deployed evasive maneuvers when asked about it by NBC News’ Chuck Todd. Even the Canadian doctor who came to D.C. to endorse his single-payer push admitted on the senator’s podcast that socialized medicine creates long wait times. Well, for another Canadian doctor, she is experiencing that aspect firsthand; she had to tell a patient of hers that the wait time to see a neurologist would take over four years. Alas, the wonders of socialism are on display (via CTV News):
An Ontario doctor says health-care wait times have reached “insane” lengths in the province, as one of her patients faces a 4.5-year wait to see a neurologist.
When Dr. Joy Hataley, a family practice anesthetist in Kingston, Ont., recently tried to send a patient to a neurologist at the Kingston General Hospital, she received a letter from the specialist’s office telling her that the current wait time for new patient referrals is 4.5 years.
The letter said that, if the delay is “unacceptable” to Dr. Hataley, she should instead refer the patient to a neurologist in Ottawa or Toronto.
[…]
Dr. Hataley said she’s used to hearing back from specialists who are unable to see her patients for months, and even up to 2.5 years. But a 4.5-year wait is “insane,” she told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview.
“This is an alarm bell,” she said. “What it is to me is a red flag to the system.”
Dr. Hataley’s patient, Suzan Wooldridge, said that although her case is not urgent, having to wait 4.5 years to see a neurologist is “just wrong.”
You know what else is wrong: government running health care. This is what you get. And besides 150 million health care plans that would be on the chopping block, access to specialized care and treatment will have to be reduced to keep costs down. Oh, and there’s tax increases; everyone’s taxes would go up to cover everyone, while degrading the quality of care. I’m not so sure the electorate would consider that tradeoff palatable. But hey—we can all wait in line and suffer to see the doctor together. Like all good comrades, right?
??Please explain @DrEricHoskins @SophieKiwala this 4.5 yr wait for #Healthcare in ON?? @picardonhealth @NeurologyToday pic.twitter.com/06WDGKQk1a
— Joy Hataley (@JoyHataley) November 1, 2017
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