Myths & Facts
Medicare for Y'all + Rural Hospitals
Myth: Medicare for All would close rural hospitals.
Facts:
That is outright false. Medicare for All will SAVE rural hospitals.
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Our current broken system has caused 160 rural hospital closures―23 of which were in Texas. This is happening because the for-profit system deprives rural hospitals of resources, instead opting to invest resources into areas where greater profits can be made (i.e. the cities, especially well-developed ones).
Medicare for All, or any other single-payer system, will resolve this issue by ensuring rural hospitals and clinics have the resources they need to stay open and healthy.
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Politicfact: any "claim that 'Medicare for All' will shutter rural hospitals is unsubstantiated"
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List of Rural Texas hospitals that closed due to our broken system:
Care Regional Medical Center
Chillicothe Hospital
Deleon Hospital
Dickerson Memorial Hospital
East Texas Medical Center-Clarksville
East Texas Medical Center-Gilmer
East Texas Medical Center-Mount Vernon
East Texas Medical Center-Trinity
Fayette Memorial Hospital
Good Shepherd Medical Center
Gulf Coast Medical Center
Hamlin Memorial Hospital
Hunt Regional Community Hospital of Commerce
Lake Whitney Medical Center
Little River Healthcare Cameron Hospital
Little River Healthcare Rockdale Hospital
Niz Community General Hospital
Renaissance Hospital Terrell
Shelby Regional Medical Center
Stamford Memorial Hospital
Texas General- Van Zandt Regional Medical Center
Weimar Medical Center
Wise Regional Health System-Bridgeport
Myth: Some doctors don't take Medicare, so they won't accept Medicare for All.
Facts:
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Currently, doctors and hospitals often rotate which health insurance networks they are in―some only accept X, others only Y, and occasionally they switch. This directly harms your freedom to choose the doctor you want.
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Medicare for All resolves this by ensuring all doctors, hospitals, and clinics are in network. You can never be denied service by anyone saying, "sorry, but we don't take your insurance."
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Medicare for All ensures your freedom to choose your own doctor.
Myth: Medicare pays doctors less, so many will go out of business.
Facts:
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This is misleading.
Medicare, as we know it, does pay less per service. This may not necessarily be the case for Medicare for All for several reasons:
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A) Most forms of Medicare aren't designed to cover the entire cost, therefore they aren't designed to pay the full price for service. Medicare for All is designed to cover the entire cost, therefore it may pay more to hospitals and doctors for their services
B) Research shows that Medicare for All would cause a 12% increase in healthcare demand, so even if the cost per service drops the increase in demand will resolve this.
Myth: I like my private insurance and don't want to lose it.
Facts:
I want you to try something: on one hand, count the number of doctors and nurses that you can name that you like. On your other hand, count the number of private healthcare insurance agents that you can name that you like. Now look at which hand has the most fingers up.
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That is what's most important. Doctors and nurses are those that we like. They are are friends, our neighbors, and they are the ones that keep us healthy. Insurance middlemen do no such thing.
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In other words, doctors and nurses are the ones we feel that connection with, not the faceless for-profit corporations. To doctors and nurses, we're people. To corporations, we're numbers.
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Medicare for All will empower doctors and nurses and will ensure you always have the freedom to choose the doctors and nurses you like.