Today, conservative organizations announced and launched the “Coalition Against Socialized Medicine” that will address and educate the public on why adopting a “Medicare for All” plan would destroy the current Medicare program, completely eliminate private insurance, including that provide by your employer, and would be bad for all Americans.  Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a proud member of the coalition and was among the first free-market, fiscally conservative organizations to join this band of freedom fighters.  Lead by the American Conservative Union, other members include American Commitment, Club for Growth, Committee to Unleash Prosperity, Freedom Works, Heritage Action for America, and the National Taxpayers Union.  We expect the membership to grow.

Currently, about one-third of the Democrats in the Senate are co-sponsoring Sen. Bernie Sander’s (i-Vt.) plan, S. 1129, including four presidential contenders, and approximately one-half of the Democrats in the House are cosponsoring Rep. Primila Jayapal’s (D-Calif.) plan, H.R. 1384.  Their so-called “Medicare for All” plans would establish socialized medicine, where federal government bureaucrats and politicians will control all aspects of your healthcare. These types of plans are often called single-payer plans since the government, or in reality taxpayers, pay all the bills.  A study by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Charles Blahous found "Medicare for All" would add an additional $32.6 trillion to the U.S budget over ten years, and that is only if all the payment cuts to providers were implemented.  On June 4, he released an updated paper on "Medicare for All" and addressed some misconceptions about his original study.

If anything has been proven since 2014 when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, officially began is that more federal government involvement (or any government for that matter) does not create better healthcare or drive down costs.  The coalition believes in consumer-driven, or market-oriented, solutions and want to preserve the doctor-patient relationship, not empower government bureaucrats.

Americans are constantly harangued by politicians, and others that support socialized medicine, that the U.S. is the only major country that doesn't guarantee a right to health care, that we spend more on healthcare than other countries, and that it is time for us to join the rest of the world to provide “free” healthcare to its citizens.  Of course, nothing is free and there is a reason why the United States leads the world in medical research and development.

What socialized medicine supporters never discuss is that in countries that do provide a single-payer system, healthcare is rationed by waiting times for treatment and out-right denials to accessing the newest treatments along with price controls to keep costs down.  Sen. Bernie Sanders was faced with the queuing problem in a discussion with a Canadian doctor, where patients may wait months to see a specialist such as a neurologist or have elective surgery, such as a knee replacement.

Can the U.S. healthcare system be approved?  Absolutely, but the Coalition Against Socialized Medicine knows the answer is not more government control but “market-oriented policies to bring about greater competition, transparency and innovation as a means to help bring down the cost of healthcare for all Americans.”

Be sure to bookmark the coalition’s website for information and learn about future endeavors as we fight to protect and control our most precious asset, our health.  In addition, the Council for Citizens Against Government Action Center includes a letter that can be sent to senators asking them to oppose "Medicare for All."