Sorry to all of you wanting to believe Betto O’Rourke is a progressive–he’s not. I will use Betto’s record, website, and words to demonstrate he doesn’t support Medicare for all.
Betto doesn’t support Medicare for all. His website lists as the sixth of six priorities on health care achieving universal health care. Betto doesn’t stand for achieving universal health care by standing for the guarantee that all Americans should be able to access Medicare; instead, he is unwilling to take a stand. He talks about achieving universle health care through a single payer system, a dual system, or otherwise.
History tells us a dual system doesn’t work. Otherwise is meaningless nonsense. The only way to achieve universle health care is by having a single payer system, like Medicare for all, that guarantees all Americans health care.
When Medicare for all legislation was introduced in the House, 124 Democrats cosponsored. Betto wasn’t one of them.
When asked to explain his unwillingness to support the Medicare for all bill in the House, Betto misrepresented the bill and claimed he was working on his own proposal. His proposal has still not been introduced. In his response, Betto told the woman who asked about Medicare for all the bill would prevent Medicare from contracting with for-profit hospitals. He indicated she wouldn’t be able to see her doctor if the doctor worked at a for-profit institution. He then rambled on about his efforts to amend the bill to make sure people could visit for-profit health care institutions.
Betty’s answer was dishonest because the bill eliminates for-profit hospitals. As long as the woman’s doctor continued practicing medicine, she could continue seeing them.
The idea of for-profit hospitals, which Betto supports, is illogical. If hospitals are encouraged to make as money as possible, their top incentive is to either deny coverage or overcharge. Unlike Betto, you should want an end to for-profit health care companies.
If you support universal health care, you shouldn’t support Betto.