"They are told by billionaires who run the media empires that universal healthcare is expensive, will ruin the country, will remove their ability to get appointments scheduled"
The "billionaires" aren't lying to you. Look at the UK, a maximalist interpretation of universal government funded healthcare.
Lockdowns destroyed the NHS. The waiting list for care (not even just elective care, any care) is now closing in on 10% of the entire population!
People are waiting hours for ambulances to turn up after heart attacks! People are dying inside ambulances sitting in queues to enter the hospital. My family has largely given up on seeing local general practitioners because so many have reduced hours during lockdowns and never brought them back, meaning they're working less with bigger demand due to backlogs. The system has indeed removed their ability to get appointments scheduled.
These are third world conditions, or perhaps more accurately, second world conditions - nobody has to pay but there are severe shortages all the time, and what you get may or may not be of acceptable quality. The USA doesn't have these problems. Heck, most places that aren't fully government run don't have these problems.
The problems are cutting through. My aunt, a lifetime public sector worker loyal to the NHS, was talking about getting private care last time we talked. It was a surprise but she said her experience was you just can't see doctors without it anymore. The net result is going to be a very expensive healthcare system for the UK - high taxes to pay for the NHS plus an ever larger shadow system of private healthcare on the side.
The "billionaires" aren't lying to you. Look at the UK, a maximalist interpretation of universal government funded healthcare.
Lockdowns destroyed the NHS. The waiting list for care (not even just elective care, any care) is now closing in on 10% of the entire population!
https://dailysceptic.org/2022/04/15/lockdown-backlog-nhs-wai...
People are waiting hours for ambulances to turn up after heart attacks! People are dying inside ambulances sitting in queues to enter the hospital. My family has largely given up on seeing local general practitioners because so many have reduced hours during lockdowns and never brought them back, meaning they're working less with bigger demand due to backlogs. The system has indeed removed their ability to get appointments scheduled.
These are third world conditions, or perhaps more accurately, second world conditions - nobody has to pay but there are severe shortages all the time, and what you get may or may not be of acceptable quality. The USA doesn't have these problems. Heck, most places that aren't fully government run don't have these problems.
The problems are cutting through. My aunt, a lifetime public sector worker loyal to the NHS, was talking about getting private care last time we talked. It was a surprise but she said her experience was you just can't see doctors without it anymore. The net result is going to be a very expensive healthcare system for the UK - high taxes to pay for the NHS plus an ever larger shadow system of private healthcare on the side.