I supported the creation of a national health care program for over 50 years. Being an advocate for a single-payer plan, I was both ambivalent and encouraged by the passage of the Affordable Care Act. I am now definitely encouraged that enrollments have approached 8 million and I believe that much pain and suffering will be addressed or avoided due to this historic and humane law.
Republicans have made it clear that they do not support a national health plan of any stripe. Unbelievably, in some states Republicans have even denied available benefits to their poor. I believe that Republicans will soon realize that they have severely misjudged both the will and good sense of the majority and, like their brethren who opposed both Social Security and Medicare, they will tuck tail, cease their opposition and discover, in the face of political reality, that they never opposed and that actually really support national health care.
Kent Hanson
Everett
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