Congressional Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) Calls for the Repeal of the Affordable Care Act and Its Replacement by Medicare-for-All
Very good to see a Republican joining the single-payer caucus:
Henserling: The American people don’t want [the Affordable Care Act]. It’s personal. Here’s my story, two days ago, I was in San Antonio, Texas, and my mother had a large tumor removed from her head. They wheeled her away at 7:20 in the morning, and by noon, I was talking to her along with the rest of our family. It proved benign, thanks to a lot of prayers and good doctors at the Methodist hospital in San Antonio. My mother’s fine. I’m not sure that would be the outcome in Canada, the U.K., or anywhere in Europe. No disrespect to our President, but when it comes to the health of my mother, I don’t want this President or any President or his bureaucrat or commissions making decisions for my loved ones. Let’s repeal [the Affordable Care Act] today, replace it tomorrow.
Matthew Yglesias comments:
Hensarling is 53 years old, so his mother is, of course, eligible for Medicare. And it’s true that Medicare, for all its flaws, is an excellent system of coverage. It’s also a system of universal taxpayer-financed government-provided health insurance... [like] Canada’s system of universal health care, which is probably why the Canadian program is also called “Medicare.” The biggest difference is that in Canada you get Medicare whether you’re 8, 18, 38, 68, or 88 whereas in the United States Medicare is only available to senior citizens. But seniors like Medicare! And so do their kids!
