Before it was known that VA Bureaucrats were denying care to Veterans, creating phony paperwork to hide their shame, and punishing anyone who threatened to reveal the scheme… all the while rewarding themselves with bonuses and luxurious new offices… left wing economists were praising the VA as the Epitome of what could be achieved with single-payer health care.
And they were right. The VA is the epitome of single payer… the corruption, incompetence, and shortcomings aren’t bugs, they are inherent features in any Government bureaucracy.
If left-wingers were reasonable, thoughtful people, they might consider that the VA scandal demonstrates all of the reasons conservatives oppose Government-run health care; contrary to the President’s assertion that Republicans just want people to not have health care.
But if you can imagine the left-wing brain trust as represented by Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Alan Grayson, Chris Matthews, and Melissa Harris Perry having a reasonable thought… you have more imagination than I do, friend.
I forget who it was that suggested that we simply issue veterans with a lifetime ID card identifying them as a veteran, and every medical bill they incur for health reasons gets paid in full by the government. It would probably be cheaper and more efficient than the VA system.
Craig that would lead to a lot of fraud. Already we have chiroquackers that send vans out looking for poor people to do treatments on at govt expense. There is a lot of bill padding when uncle sugar picks up the tab even in hospitals.