Why I'm against the term "Medicare for All" [View all]

[gulliver]

Feel free to criticize and correct me on the following.

The approaches being proposed are essentially better than Medicare, so why call them Medicare? That plays into the Republican investment in propagandizing against Medicare for one thing. Second, Medicare without "Medigap" or "Advantage" or dental coverage wouldn't be good enough. Without those Rube Goldberg privatized side insurance coverages, people end up with either expensive drug costs or no "maximum out-of-pocket" (MOOP) benefit or both. They end up deciding whether to fill their prescriptions or get a filling. If they have a catastrophic illness for a time, the lack of a MOOP benefit can be a one-way ticket to a state nursing home.

Therefore, "Medicare for All" can sound lackluster (even if what is being proposed isn't). People don't want to feel there is any chance they might be "forced" to accept something lackluster. That's all people, imo, including everyone from people with great insurance to people with no insurance. That's why it is important that everyone be assured that the Dem plan offers everyone good insurance and also that they can keep their hard-earned, customary, familiar plans if they wish. Eliminate enrollment periods and just let people pick what they want. Use Medicare and the ACA as a foundation and create something better.

Personally, I like the British term "National Health Service." I like taking the word "care" completely out of the equation. First, I really like adding emphasis to positive health solutions (Let's Move! for example) as opposed to fixating too often only on disease and corrective care. Second, call me cynical, but I hear the word "care" and I associate that with my own less-than-complete faith in humanity. Sure, most people may care and will want to offer care to the sick most of the time. But some don't care or don't care about particular people. I like the word "service." Put it that way.

To me, a National Health Service should be Cabinet level and should focus on making people as healthy as possible. Period.