Reply #41: several Canadian small business owners have told me ...

[Lisa]

... that if they had to pay for health insurance they would have to lay off staff. Or even go bankrupt. So those businesses might not even exist if we didn't have Medicare.

And a woman who works for a certain retail chain in the States told me that she is scared to refuse last-minute schedule changes at the expense of missing important family events, or complain about her supervisor hitting on her, because she is terrified of losing her health care. When I heard this, my first thought was "hostage situation".

Excellent points, Yardwork.

And kudos to Elizabeth Edwards for speaking out. I thought of her earlier this month when I had my head shaved at a cancer research fundraiser.