Way back in 2004, I presented on this website a new paradigm for healthcare: that it should be viewed as a piece of our national defense. Under this paradigm, nationalized healthcare, or at the very least single-payer healthcare, becomes a no brainer. While my paradigm did not gain any traction at the time, I think that COVID-19 makes this argument way stronger - we have a foreign invader in our midst, a microbial terrorist, killing our citizenry. We pour trillions into national defense without acknowledging that invaders come in the smallest of packages, too. The cost to our economy because of how unprepared we were for this invader, and the lost lives of our fellow citizens, makes the GOP complaints about how expensive Medicare for all would be look foolish at best and callous at worst.
Our current system is broken. As long as Republicans keep viewing healthcare as a business, we will never be able to fix it. That is where this paradigm shift comes in. Healthcare as a responsibility of the government, as an element of protecting the citizens. The slow response to COVID-19, the lack of available tests, the damage to our economy, and to the people, is demonstrating just how deadly a mistake it is to leave healthcare to the free market. This is what I wrote back in 2004:
New Health Care Paradigm: What is the #1 responsibility of the government? Think about that for a minute. What do you think a Republican would say? Many people, possibly most people, would say, "To protect its people." Even if that is not the #1 responsibility, I would think nearly everyone would agree it is a major responsibility.
So what should the government protect us from?
- Enemies? Undoubtedly. That's why we have the armed forces.
- Crime? Yes. That's why we have the FBI, DEA, Federal Marshalls, courts, NSA, prisons, ATF, and other law enforcement agencies.
- Natural Disasters? Sure. That is why we have FEMA.
- Disease or other health dangers? No doubt. We have the FDA, EPA, OSHA, NIH, Medicare, the CDC and many other agencies that are involved to some degree in monitoring, maintaining, or ensuring the health of the citizenry.
So, if health dangers are something the government is already concerned with, why is universal health care not a part of this model? A healthy citizenry is certain to be a more productive workforce (that is, after all, the justification behind employer-provided health insurance). So, look at injury and disease as a threat to our citizenry and our national economy. Health care then becomes part of our national defense.
What is the one thing Republicans are always willing to spend more money on? National Defense!
