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Mom is a Republican, lives in one of the reddest states in So. IL, and voted for John McCain (yeah, I know :grr: ). Dad is a loose cannon - he voted for Perot! They were visiting with me yesterday. We have had many discussions about health care reform. My parents have had roving opinions, never really coming out with anything solid and most of what they say sounds like Right Wing talking points. During yet another discussion on that topic yesterday my Mom drops this one:
"Why can't we just give everyone Medicare?"
:wow:
I said, a little sarcastically, "Because, Mom, that would be Socialism."
She says, "At least everyone would be covered right away." I'm beginning to feel a little hopeful.
Then as we are discussing further she talks about all of her friends who are still working because they can't afford health insurance if they retire before Medicare kicks in. A light is going off in my head. She just turned 65, retired at 62 and was paying $700/month for her medical coverage (state program) until she turned 65. She knew what her other friends would be facing and knew that many were being forced to keep working.
Anyway, the point of this post is this: how many people over the age of 60 would decide to retire if they knew they had a public option for health insurance? I think the numbers would be staggering and would solve some of our unemployment issues. Would that be considered an added plus to the Public Option?
What say you, DU? :shrug:
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