ObamaCare has failed in several key areas. The Paragon Health Institute, the NIH, the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Education and Workforce cite the following failures: Rising Costs and Premiums, High Deductibles and Narrow Networks, Heavy Reliance on Taxpayer Subsidies, Medicaid Expansion and Enrollment Errors, and Broken Initial Promises: You can keep your doctors and existing insurance plans.

Subsequently, Democrats are dangling a new shiny object before our eyes: Medicare for ALL, their FREE health care for ALL scheme. We should be very concerned. This is a FALSE promise with a potential catastrophic outcome.

Dr. Joel Zinberg, director of the Paragon Health Institute’s Public Health and American Well-Being Initiative, cites the enormous cost of the Democrats’ “Medicare for All” scheme. The Democrats’ plan would add an estimated $47 trillion in federal spending over the next 10 years, all to fund a health care system marketed as “FREE”. The Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren “tax the rich” proposal would only pull in $4 trillion in 10 years, leaving hardworking taxpayers facing a 90% deficit. Our entire YEARLY federal budget is $7.4 trillion.

Let’s look to Canada. Canada’s Single Payer System fallout per Forbes, The WAPO, The Nation and Pacific Research Institute: Prolonged Wait Times, Provider and Bed Shortages, High Tax Burden ($19,000 to $21,000 per family of 4), Gaps in Coverage, and Patient Outflows (patients seeking treatment abroad or in the U.S.).

Canadians diagnosed with cancer wait several months to see a specialist. Neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery specialists have a median wait time of almost 50 weeks. The prolonged wait times produce dire consequences. Instead of planning for their treatment, many Canadians are left planning their demise.

There is another heartbreaking story out there, of retired Corporal and former Canadian Paralympian Christine Gauthier, who waited years for a home wheelchair lift. The Canadian VA offered her assisted suicide instead.

This should be a stark warning for all Americans. FREE is never FREE. My takeaway: You better be extremely healthy and say hello to the Democrat tax hikes.

Wanda Dietz

Franklin Township