Americans of all political stripes. As you note, it's the framing of the debate and the misconceptions that remain a big barrier to greater public support for a total socialization of health care or it's cousin, a government funded, single payer system, such as Medicare.

The bugaboo about "socialism" remains entrenched in the public's mind, I think. From the days of the Wobblies, through FDR's New Deal and on into the McCarthy era, socialism with an American face was likened to Communism/totalitarianism and the specter of a Big Brother government involvement in the basics of our lives. (Oh, the irony...)

I think that battle for perception is best not fought, in favor of the specifics, on a less visceral scale, in the discussion with opponents. (There will always be a fringe that refuses to accept any other point of view. They ought to ignored, imho.)

Some concrete concerns people seem to have:

Government will make your health care decisions, not you and your doctors.

Largely a red herring. Even in the VA, which is the closest we have to socialized medicine, in that the payer and the providers work for the federal government, day to day medical decisions are made by doctors and patients. In the instances where federal bureaucracies hamper delivery of adequate and timely care - as we've seen recently - it's the oversight that needs adjusting, not the basic system.

In the single payer Medicare, doctors and patients make health care decisions. The federal government, as payer, sets reimbursement rates and basic coverage guidelines. When these are out of whack - as reimbursement is today, it's the oversight that needs to be tweaked, and updated, not the system.

It's more expensive and wasteful.

Wrong. Medicare overhead is cheaper across the system than private insurance company systems, the multiplicity of billing systems adds another layer to health care providers workload, and costs are inflated to incorporate a profit for the private insurer.

Again, where a Medicare or a VA system is too top heavy for efficiency, oversight is the solution, not dismantling the basic structure.

There's long wait time.

I have no knowledge how it goes in the VA, but as a Medicare beneficiary, I've had no problems, even when needing to see a specialist. I have heard of delays due to the availability of providers in some areas, mainly due to reimbursement rates. (see above)

Someone will get something for nothing, or I'll pay for someone else's health care.

Well, I hate to hear this, but in answer I'll say, Yep, you're right. Just as all taxpayers fund national defense, the national highway system, local law and fire protection, schools, etc. etc. We can *all* fund national health care as an accepted, basic standard.

Thanks for your post.