And he's running unopposed in November.

why do we always -- or too often, anyway -- seem to be willing let this happen?

nt

this is just his talking point that was faxed to him this morning. The Big Lie.

The conversation goes like this...

Single-Payer Skeptic: "Man, I don't want to have to pay for someone else's medical care!"
Me: "Ever seen one of those cans at the Chevron, where someone's asking donations for their treatment?"
SPS: "Well, yeah, sure."
Me: "Did you ever put a dollar into one of those?"
SPS: "Well, yeah, when I can afford it, it's the right thing to do."
Me: "When you do that, you're paying for that person's treatment. In fact you are paying a larger amount for the same treatment than you would under a single-payer plan, since single-payer spreads the cost out over many people. And Single-Payer would guarantee treatment for that person, rather than falling short because not enough people donated."

She was suffering from throat cancer, and she was unable to get coverage prior to the ACA, and by the time she could, it was far too late; the cancer had metastasized to her brain. She passed two weeks ago, and he and his family are absolutely shattered.

I do not like the individual mandate. I would strongly prefer single-payer. But I cannot make the perfect the enemy of the good. Had this been in place three, or even two years ago, perhaps my friend and his fifty-six year old, lovely mother would still get together on weekends to paint, as they did before this struck her down.

He had lost his job and had no insurance. He decided to go back to school and signed up for a school policy but there was a 90 day waiting period. During that time, he developed a pain in his leg. He didn't want to worry his wife and he thought it was just a minor thing. He mentioned it to his mother who told him to go to the doctor. But he didn't. His wife came home one day and found him, dead. The pain was a blood clot that traveled to his heart.

To realize that there are people who would rather suffer through poor, even dangerously poor health, than go to a doctor they cannot afford. The fear of not having money, of owing debt and having collectors come knocking, can be more powerful than the fear of what the consequences of going untreated will be.

Of course it's not their fault and they are owed no blame. This is simply a logical consequence of our disgusting system that treats health care like a commodity, rather than a necessity. People need it to live, but our economic and political structure acts as if it's "on the side," like guacamole on your burger or something; if you want it, pay extra.

I'm one of those who believes that the ACA doesn't go far enough. If if weren't for Ted Kennedy passing away at such an inopportune time, i.e., before the final vote, we would have had the votes to invoke cloture and pass what I'd call "Medicare Part E" ('E' for "everyone&quot .

It's a step in the right direction.

It's a process and we've taken an important first step.

Truth be told, if you had asked me this morning, I would have said repeal.

Now, after reading the SCOTUS ruling, I am more joyful than I have been in a long time.

Definitely, DO NOT repeal the ACA!

-Laelth

Move forward and start fixing things in it

but it's still not good enough.

I would like to see us pass a "Medicare For All" law that serves as a de facto repeal of the ACA.