Democrats, especially Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, continually advocate for single-payer (taxpayer-funded) health care, proclaiming that health care is a human right. No one wants to see people suffer from untreated ailments, and it's indisputable that health care costs are skyrocketing. But conservatives argue that relief lies in free-market principles prioritizing innovation, choice, and efficiency. In contrast, proponents of socialized medicine -- often cloaked as "Medicare for All" -- insist it will deliver affordable, universal coverage. History and data paint a far grimmer picture: ballooning costs, endless wait times, rationed care, and needless suffering.

Our own Medicaid program and failed experiments abroad betray socialized systems utopian promises that burden taxpayers and endanger lives. Medicaid, the crown jewel of U.S. socialized health care since 1965, was originally designed to aid the needy. It has since morphed into a bloated entitlement devouring federal and state budgets, from $10.9 billion in 1975 to nearly $909 billion in 2024, an increase of approximately 8,256%. This includes adjustments for inflation and population growth.

Enrollment shows a similar tale of unchecked expansion. From roughly 18 million beneficiaries in 1975 to nearly 91 million in 2024 -- nearly 25% of Americans -- despite economic booms and welfare reforms.

This is fiscal insanity. Bureaucratic red tape stifles competition and drives up costs while delivering subpar outcomes. Fraud is rampant, with billions lost annually to waste and abuse, and providers fleeing the program due to reimbursements below market rates. We (conservatives) see this as government overreach at its worst: a one-size-fits-all mandate that crowds out private innovation and rewards dependency.

In the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), 3.7 million people languish on waiting lists for non-urgent procedures, a 54% increase since 2008. One in 10 waits over 18 months; in England, one in 14 citizens is queued up. Cancer care is rationed by age -- women over 80 receive surgery just 39% of the time, versus 90% for those under 50. U.K. seniors needing complex eye surgeries either wait or use private medical sources as clinicians prioritize simpler and better-paid procedures. Some end up going blind. Meanwhile, reports decry "appalling" neglect, medication errors, and strikes by overworked doctors.

Over 80% of elderly patients report NHS discrimination. Ambulances reportedly left an 82-year old woman writing on a Welsh floor for eight hours. Canada's system is worse, with median wait times ballooning to 20 weeks from GP referral to treatment -- 115% longer than in 1993. Specialists? Over two months on average, plus almost nine more weeks for procedures. Every year, 52,000 Canadians flee to the U.S. for timely care, especially since Canada is promoting Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID).

Socialists romanticize Scandinavia, but closer examination reveals its rot. Sweden plummeted from the fourth- to the 13th-richest nation between 1975 and the 1990s, with zero net private job growth over 50 years despite population booms. One in ten Swedes now buys private insurance to escape 90-day-plus waits for hip replacements. Denmark and Norway average 55-183 days for joint surgeries.

These are hallmarks of centralized control. Costs skyrocket -- Bernie Sanders' single-payer dream would demand $15 trillion in new federal expenditures over a decade. Interestingly, his own state scrapped its trial run in 2016, citing "enormous" expenses. Does Bernie know? Of course he does. He just doesn’t care. It’s not really about health care, it’s about implementing the Cloward-Piven Strategy.

Anecdotal horror stories abound: In Canada, Diane Gorsuch waited two years for heart surgery, and had two appointments canceled. She died of a heart attack en route to the third. Actress Natasha Richardson perished after a 2.5-hour ambulance detour sans helicopter service. Australia's Kyle Inglis, 8, lost half his hearing from an 11-month wait for tumor removal. Britain's NHS canceled Mavis Skeet's cancer surgery four times, rendering it inoperable; she died. Bureaucrats banned life-extending drugs Sutent and Tarceva to save pennies, dooming patients. Even Sweden's prime minister endured eight months of agony for a hip replacement.

Alexandria Occasional-Cortex (apologies, I can't help myself) claims we'll fund single-payer health care the way we pay for everything else, through taxation, especially by doing so "equitably." The great economist Milton Friedman said that there are only two ways to allocate scarce resources -- by time (rationing) or by price. Sanders' and AOC's call for single-payer health care isn't compassion; it's cruelty wrapped in equity rhetoric. It explodes budgets, queues the desperate, and rations hope.

Conservatives acknowledge skyrocketing costs. We also know the antidote: deregulate markets, empower patients with choices, and unleash innovation. America's hybrid system is admittedly flawed, but nevertheless outperforms pure socialism by light-years. It worked better before the implementation of Obamacare, which was doomed by Guaranteed Issue and Community Rating.

Before embracing the abyss, heed these warnings. Our lives depend on it.

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