You're being sold a bill of goods. It amazes me that liberals have a near-infinite level of skepticism about anything said by a corporation that serves the corporation's own interests, but when government and the cronies of government tell you that you need more government, you swallow it like candy.

I was around before there was Medicare. I had grandparents and great-grandparents. They got medical care. They had doctors. The streets were not full of dying elderly people who couldn't get into hospitals.

You want harder data, you can start here. It takes money to see the full article, but you get the gist.

This isn't about providing for the needy. It's about power. Social Security and Medicare allowed our political leaders to effectively enslave the most reliable voting group in the country. It's why they still dismiss any ideas for targeted assistance to the needy, or self-financed remedies, in favor of "universal" ideas that force everyone in the country into a nationalized program.

There's no power to be had in self-reliance.

And excuse me if I don't find "bread and circuses" argument for socialism very appealing.