(#5360) Trying to convince my neighbor about the benefits of Universal health care

      I have a neighbor who is now getting ready to pay over $6,000 a month to a palliative care home. I tried to tell her that if we had universal health care coverage she would not need to pay anywhere near that amount. But her immediate response was well there are 3 million more people here in California. Well I have known for sometime that her and her husband are republicans but since we live next to each other I keep politics out of our occasional discourses. But in this case her understanding that 3 million more people would be eligible for health care chapped my hide. I told her that it would be good for them since keeping our nation healthy is a priority.
     My main point to her was that health care issues like what is happening to her husband should not remove all the savings and investments they have done in their lifetime. No one should be charged exorbitant amounts to care for their elderly spouses when physical liabilities occur. Her husband is likely not coming back home since he cannot walk on his own and must be cared for 24-7. So it is the care home for him even though he is not in any imminent death diagnosis. He will likely live out his days in the care home for how many years is uncertain at best. The monthly payments will eat away their savings and in time there will be little left of their nest egg.
     I think she began to understand that not only are the poor served by universal health care but even the moderately well off. Too many couples have had their life savings taken away through for profit care homes and to me that is not how this should be. A universal health care system helps everyone and should be our model like in 72 other countries who enjoy much higher life expectancies than those countries that don't have publicly funded health care. One inch at a time with some folks and I don't know if she will ever be cool with helping everyone while she is being helped herself but maybe she will come around when she thinks on it some more. No expectations though...