Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) continued her fight for universal healthcare on Sunday night after she had to choose from dozens of convoluted marketplace options offered under the current system.
While Obamacare is the best system we have right now, the private insurance companies are still keeping medical care expensive and out of reach for many Americans. Ocasio-Cortez won’t have to worry about the expense in her case because as a member of the House of Representatives, she can afford many of the plans offered to her and they will also be partially subsidized.
But that didn’t stop her from caring about the rest of us and the healthcare options we get. After all, Americans also get several options placed before them, but they are often expensive and don’t offer adequate coverage.
Healthcare in this country is a mess, and that’s why Ocasio-Cortez used her recent experience with the healthcare marketplace to advocate for universal healthcare, a system where everyone is covered by the government and prices are much lower, which is how it works in every other developed nation.
Members of Congress also have to buy their plans off the exchange. They are Gold plans that are partially subsidized.
That means I get to “choose” btwn 66 complex financial products.
This is absurd. No person should go without healthcare, &no one should go through this, either. pic.twitter.com/bIeD71CD5g
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2019
While I am VERY thankful to finally have health insurance, it is a moral outrage that it took me *getting elected to Congress* for that to happen.
The US needs to become an advanced society. That includes establishing healthcare as a right to all people.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2019
And as someone who has now experienced many parts of the insurance spectrum (being uninsured, underinsured, and adequately insured) I don’t see how anyone can think our current healthcare system only needs a 10% improvement or a just few tweaks.
We need #MedicareForAll.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2019
And once again, make sure to get insured if you can at https://t.co/oM59nhveTV
Yes, it’s a pain. But it is worth it.
I know some folks are bristling at the fact that I am pointing that out, but we have to acknowledge the reality so we can move forward together.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 16, 2019
Of course, more than a few conservatives attacked her for bashing the current system, ironic considering they have whined about Obamacare for years.
The point, however, is that universal healthcare is the absolute best system in the world and the United States needs to get on board. No one should have to deal with a complex system that could end up forcing them into bankruptcy. Universal healthcare is not only simple and won’t bankrupt anyone, it means we would not have to deal with private insurance anymore and it would be far less expensive.
Universal healthcare would also lower the price of prescription drugs considerably, as Ocasio-Cortez has noted again and again in her fight against Big Pharma.
It’s time for the United States to boldly go where most developed nations have already gone. Our people deserve the best, and that’s universal healthcare.
Featured Image: Wikimedia