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>>Happy Birthday, Medicare I should send you one of those gag cards that teases you about
getting older. But at 46, you’re a year younger than I am, so I won’t go there.
On your special day, a little reminiscing about your life.
>>You sure did have a hard time in the womb. Many times, your enemies, the ones we always
have with us, those who believe man is an island entire of himself, tried to abort you.
Even the doctors in the AMA worked like the dickens to get rid of you. They didn’t kill
you, thank goodness, but they did succeed in maiming you. You were conceived as a public
insurance for us all, but by the time you were born you had lost the limbs to care for
those under age 65. And you were hobbled so that you could only cover limited services,
leaving deductibles and co-pays. >>Even with your birth injuries, you’ve
managed to do a lot of good in your 46 years. I’m grateful for the service you’ve given
to my grandparents, my father, and my in-laws. Without your help, my husband and I would
have been bankrupt long ago trying to help pay for their medical care. Folks who worry
about being in the sandwich generation now probably don’t realize how bad it would
be with medical bills piled on top of that sandwich. Our finances would be panini, or
maybe toast. >>Your enemies have tried to poison you over
the years. They force you to donate blood to something they call Medicare Advantage,
private corporations who divert your precious transfusions toward their own profit instead
of caring for patients. These same enemies put a gag over your mouth so you couldn’t
negotiate with drug companies for fair prices. Even today, some are working to drain all
your blood and give it to private corporate vampires.
>>These actions have weakened you, but there’s a way to restore you to health. We’ve got
the technology to reattach the limbs you lost at birth, so you can become what you were
always meant to be, Medicare for All. Not only that, but we can improve you, make you
cheaper and stronger, by removing your burdensome co-pays and deductibles.
>>Some worry you’d be slower with all your limbs. We can plan ahead to solve that problem
by training more doctors and other health workers. Once we remove all those bloodsucking
insurance companies from you and the rest of us, you can get your strength back. Our
healthcare system as a whole has had to operate on 2/3 power for decades, while private insurers
and the associated administrative costs have siphoned off a third of our medical funds.
Imagine what we can do when fully powered! >>Happy Birthday, Medicare! I’ll quit talking
about your enemies. After all, this is a day to celebrate. You also have friends. Friends
who love you are working tirelessly to help you fulfill your dreams. Physicians for a
National Health Program, Healthcare Now, and many other organizations, including labor
unions and churches, continue to gain new members working for your cause. There’s
great hope in the next generation of doctors. The largest medical student group, the American
Medical Student Association, officially endorses Medicare for All. Even smart conservatives
support you, because you are the most financially responsible way to address our health insurance
needs. >>So today, it’s all about you! We’re
having parties and singing your song, all over the country. Happy Birthday, Dear Medicare.
May you have many, many more.