Obamcare is a Step Towards Achieving Military Healthcare for all Americans

There is plenty of blame to go around for the VA Hospital scandal. Shoddy veterans’ healthcare has been widespread under both the Bush and Obama administrations. If Obama was aware of the problem in 2008, then so were Republicans and they too did nothing. But the VA Hospital scandal is a huge problem for Obama and Democrats for the following reasons:

First, the problem seems to have gotten worse under Obama and Obama campaigned on fixing the issues that have been raised over the past several weeks. Besides, the cowardice Obama has refused to address the public about the issue. And it should come as no surprise that no one has been held accountable (The one person who was forced out resigned before the scandal broke). Secondly, more fraud has come to the surface where doctors fake records to show they are seeing patients when in fact they are not. Thirdly, the problem is widespread affecting most VA hospitals around the country so the media coverage will be nationalized (even if national news networks refuse to cover the story). Fourthly, the shoddy VA care has led directly to the death of several veterans. Veterans are popular and nobody wants to see them treated unjustly.

The above reasons are problematic for Democrats, but the most glaring reason the VA scandal is a problem for Democrats is because VA healthcare is government controlled. In fact, veterans’ healthcare is completely controlled by the government (insurance, doctors, hospitals, etc. are all under government control). In other words, the U.S. veterans’ healthcare system is no different than England’s or Canada’s socialized healthcare systems. And like England’s and Canada’s socialized medicine, U.S. veterans’ healthcare is shoddy with long wait times and doctor shortages.

What’s worse for all Americans is that ObamaCare is a step towards socialized medicine. ObamaCare has worked precisely how Obama and Democrats devised it to work – it is moving more people on Medicaid or other government controlled insurance plans. Democrats have made no secret that they want a single payer system controlled by the government (strange how they are so against corporate monopolies but have no problem with government monopolies). ObamaCare is this first step toward obtaining government controlled healthcare insurance for all Americans.

So why is socialized medicine failing veterans? The reason is simple - it removes competition and free enterprise. Government doctors are paid a salary and receive the same pay whether they see zero or twenty patients in a single day. Hence, government doctors commit fraud and fill their days with fake appointments and therefore push back the wait time to see real patients. Private practice doctors on the other hand make more money if they see more patients. And what is interesting, data suggests that private doctors spend on average more time with their patients than public doctors who see far fewer patients. According to the VA, since 2008 the amount of funding for veterans healthcare has doubled and the wait time for appointments has more than tripled.

Medicare, Medicaid, and now ObamaCare are pushing the U.S. towards socialized medicine. As fewer doctors accept Medicaid, Medicare, and ObamaCare there will be a need for government run hospitals and doctors. And liberals will never quit until the U.S. has a socialized medicine model equal to England, Canada, and yes, our failing VA.