![]() Image uploaded from a quicklink (Image by Unknown Owner) Details DMCA | From my days as a school kid I remember the original debate over creating Medicare. At the time, my dad -- a small-town doctor and at that stage a conservative -- was, like most doctors and the AMA as a whole, strongly against the plan, as a step toward "socialized medicine." After all, when his patients couldn't pay, he found ways to reduce or forgive their fees. The opposing argument, which in the long run convinced nearly everyone (including the AMA, and my father) was that leaving older people exposed to the threat of open-ended and potentially ruinous medical expenses, or dependent on individual doctors' charity, was harmful all around. |




