kane

That is part of it, yet our schools, social security, police, fire and other things are all socialized and few people seem to have troubles with that.

I think some of it is that people who work and get health insurance through their jobs think all social medicine would do is make them pay for people on welfare's healthcare. I guess they don't realize they already do.

Another thing I think that holds it back is that it would require our leaders to let the pharmacy companies know that they can no longer flat rape the American people. We are the only industrialized nation in the world that doesn't have some kind of cap on how much they can mark up drug prices. For example. I have asthma and can't get health insurance that will cover anything asthma related so I pay for my medicine out of pocket. One of the prescriptions I take is $315 for a 60 day supply. I have called everywhere and that is the cheapest price. I can order it online from a pharmacy outside the US and get the exact same medicine for $90. Pretty sad. The pharmacy companies will fight tooth and nail to keep their prices where they want them and having prices that high would make socialized medicine very expensive. Actual doctor visits aren't that much. Many people go to the doctor once a year or even if they end up in the hospital for something the expense isnt' big compared to the cost of drugs. there are a lot of people that take thousands of dollars worth of medicine every year for decades and that cost adds up pretty quickly.

I think what we will ultimately have here is some kind of national health insurance where people can either qualify to get it for free or buy into it if they can afford it and they will give some kind of credits or tax breaks to employers who provide health insurance. It won't be socialized medicine, but more of a system of giving access to everyone who wants it under certain terms.