Words and phrases like “single payer” and “Medicare for all” have been tainted. Utter one of these and a regular Fox viewer will counter with “Are you talking about socialized medicine?” With this big grimace for additional emphasis on the word “socialized”. Because these guys know that anything accompanied by the word “socialized” is wrong.
How do you counter this knee jerk reaction? Say “I support non-profit healthcare.”
In my experience as a health care provider, people hate the idea that someone is making a profit from their misery. They despise the pharmacy bros of the world. When they see the price of an old four dollar generic go sky high, they fume. They are scared to death that some money grubbing surgeon is going to talk them into a surgery they do not really need. They know that if they fail the wallet biopsy, they will not get necessary care even at the emergency room, the provider of last resort for the uninsured and marginally insured. They remember the days when hospitals would write off your bill if you were a hardship case and doctors routinely delivered about 5% to 10% of their care for free as a public service.
There are good reasons why health care should be not for profit. Health care is a necessity not a luxury. Meaning that the pharmacy bros have you over a barrel. They can hold your health hostage—-that is why Wall Street has sunk its money grubbing fingers into health care with a vengeance. Same principle as privatizing schools, prisons, college education loans. Except that when they try to squeeze out every bit of extra profit they can from your healthcare (because they are not bound by the rules of medical professionalism, they are bound by the rule that requires that they make a profit for their stockholders) the consequences are suffering and death. Ouch.
Those who make money off for-profit health care will tell you that the profit motive encourages innovation and better care. Bull crap. Healthcare is like teaching or firefighting. Most of those who go into this career do so because of the non monetary rewards. A not for profit health care organization will want to come up with new and improved therapy just as much as a for profit organization will. And since all the extra money generated will go back into the organization (rather than being diverted to stockholders) the not for profit will be better able to fund its research.