MEDICARE FOR ALL? I VOTE NO

I do not support the “Medicare for All” proposals of Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders.  And I do not support the US transitioning to socialized medicine.

While I think in different times “Medicare for All” should be seriously discussed, I certainly do believe it should not be included in the 2020 Democratic Party platform.  There must be nothing to prevent independents and anti-Trump conservatives and Republicans from voting for the Democratic nominee.

I do support free tuition at state colleges and trade schools – but that is a different topic.

I believe that Obamacare, aka The Affordable Care Act, has good, bad and ugly.  Obamacare was a truly flawed hastily written and passed Act created to get an early legislative victory for Obama.  It was voted on along strict Party lines without a single member of Congress actually reading the bill.  They were told by their Party’s leaders to either vote for it or against it and all followed in lock-step.

As an aside, the GOP Tax Act was exactly the same – flawed legislation hastily written and passed along strict Party lines that was not actually read by a single member of Congress.  

I do not believe that individuals and families should be financially penalized for not having “adequate” health insurance coverage for all household members, and I do not believe employers should be financially penalized for not providing health insurance coverage to employees.  I strongly oppose any kind of “shared responsibility penalty”.

I do believe insurance policies should be required to cover “pre-existing conditions”.  And I especially like and strongly support providing “point of purchase” credits toward monthly premium payments for those who cannot afford coverage – the Obamacare “advance premium credit” – although I do not necessarily believe it should be reconciled after the fact on the Form 1040.

Here is a proposal related to health insurance coverage that I have not heard discussed by candidates.

Often individuals and families lose employer-provided group health insurance coverage when the individual or the head of the household loses his or her job, and are without insurance for several months until they get a new job and qualify for employer-provided, or can afford to purchase outside, coverage. 

What about the government providing automatic temporary Medicare coverage for up to perhaps 6 months to individuals and families in such a situation – either free of charge or at the same premium cost as paid by those 65 or older who qualify for Medicare?

So, what do you think?