Okay, so, I am a staunch supporter of socialized health care. I think the state should help support people's health needs.
However, when people are afraid of "socialized medicine," I think what they're terrified of is this:
"Brent’s 81-year-old wife, Dolores, was admitted to the hospital in Trail, in southeastern B.C. near the border with Washington, in August 2009 after suffering a heart attack.After she recovered, her husband told hospital staff he wanted to take her back to their home in nearby Montrose.Instead, the hospital moved her into its long-term care wing, saying she was too frail to leave.“She would ask me every day, ‘When can I get out of here?’” Brent said. “They stated that I wouldn’t be allowed to take her home.”In the long-term care wing, Dolores Brent’s health deteriorated. She suffered a stroke, and dementia set in."-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------What ensued was protracted battle between health authorities and George Brent over the care of his wife. Brent, who still wanted to take Delores to their home, complained of the care she received in the long-term care wing of the hospital claiming that he and his daughter, “often found Dolores parched, cold, tied to her wheelchair or even sitting in her own waste.”Eventually, feeling his complaints weren’t being addressed, Brent resorted to refusing to pay the medical bills that the hospital sent him. That’s when the province stepped in.
No seriously, read the whole thing.
If you have ever felt angry at someone for being against "socialized medicine," read the whole thing.
This article does not mean you need to change your opinion about publicly supported health care. But you do have to spend some time realizing that there are some legitimate fears about government involvement in health care.
The more you build in controls to health care to prevent this sort of shit from happening, the more solid you can be in your support of it. We need to look this article right in the eye.
