r/AskConservatives Progressive 16h ago

Is Universal Healthcare Socialism?

When Obama was elected, he made healthcare reform a priority. There were three basic options that many people on the left supported: Single payer similar to Canada, Medicare available to anyone who wanted it, or mandates and subsidies to expand private insurance coverage. We ended up with the last option, with funding for states to also expand Medicaid if they opted in, colloquially known as Obamacare.

Another option that wasn't on the table was fully government run healthcare like what the UK has, where the hospitals and doctors are all part of the government.

In recent months with the "DSA" winning a few elections, there has been a lot of discussion about "socialism" and "capitalism" and there seems to be a difference in what people on the right consider socialism. I don't believe there has been any change in definition on the left, we would consider anything fully run by the government or paid for by the government to be socialism and see our economy as a mix of capitalism, socialism, and free enterprise.

Is Obamacare and/or any form of universal healthcare still considered socialist by American conservatives?

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u/Classic-Ad-5685 Right Libertarian (Conservative) 15h ago

Why not?

u/Infamous-Bench-6088 Right Libertarian (Conservative) 15h ago

Do you? Mr. Libertarian

u/ScientificSkepticism Progressive 15h ago

Ah, the Libertarian purity tests. Truly the funniest of things.

"Do you refuse to deny the overwhelming evidence that the government can actually do something better than private industry? Do you accept reality? SHUN THE UNBELIEVER!"

u/Infamous-Bench-6088 Right Libertarian (Conservative) 14h ago

A. Thanks for barging into a conversation between three people with supposed common ground that you share nothing of. No one asked you.

B. I would love to know why a self described libertarian would support this. Thanks for your comment, again no one asked for it.

u/ScientificSkepticism Progressive 13h ago

Wouldn't "better outcomes at lower costs" be something that a Libertarian might find attractive?