Angie Nixon’s unexpected defeat of establishment Democrat Alexander Vindman yet again shows that moderate Democrats underestimate the raw political power of the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) “free” stuff agenda.
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Vindman had name recognition, a campaign war chest, and the blessing of the Democratic Party establishment. Nearly all political polls had him ahead by a wide margin, and nearly all political pundits assumed he would cruise to victory.
But cruise to victory Vindman did not. Instead, the odious Vindman lost by 12 points to a newly minted DSA member running primarily on the DSA’s most popular issue: Medicare for All.
According to Nixon’s campaign website, “The United States is the richest country on earth but doesn’t guarantee healthcare to all its people.”
That is true. There is no guarantee to “free” universal health care in the Constitution. Neither is it mentioned as a natural right under the Declaration of Independence.
But never mind those pesky founding documents from centuries ago.
This is the “sexy socialist summer,” and the DSA is soaking up every second of its time in the sun.
Earlier this summer, the DSA released its official policy platform, the Workers Deserve More Program, which clearly states its goal to “guarantee universal healthcare at no cost to individuals, including complete access to reproductive and gender-affirming care.”
The DSA calls this “Medicare for All.”
However, that is a rhetorical bait-and-switch of epic proportions.
Nixon says she will “fight for Medicare for All that covers every person in America — free at the point of service, with no premiums, no deductibles, no copays, and no surprise bills.”
Nixon claims Medicare for All will provide “comprehensive coverage, including dental, vision, hearing, mental health and substance use treatment, reproductive and maternity care, and prescription drugs.”
Here is the problem. Medicare, under its current lawful iteration, does cover “things like inpatient hospital care, doctors’ services and tests, and preventive services,” per its website.
On the other hand, Medicare does not cover “eye exams,” “long-term care,” “cosmetic surgery,” “massage therapy,” “routine physical exams,” “hearing aids and exams for fitting them,” “Concierge care (also called concierge medicine, retainer-based medicine, boutique medicine, platinum practice, or direct care),” and “most dental care.”
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Therefore, suggesting that Medicare for All would be akin to offering traditional Medicare benefits to all Americans is misinformation.
Most Medicare recipients are more than 65 years old and have dutifully paid into the Medicare Trust Fund for many decades from which they are now taking benefits. Medicare has never been “free.”
Furthermore, in 2025, 87 percent of Medicare recipients purchased “supplemental coverage” like Medigap and Medicare Advantage to cover prescription drugs and several services not covered by Original Medicare. Medicare, since its inception, was never intended to provide universal coverage.
It’s also peculiar that DSA dummies like Nixon never mention that Medicare is already on the brink of insolvency. The Medicare Trust Fund faces “serious fiscal challenges” because “Medicare spending is projected to continue increasing faster than Medicare payroll taxes and faster than the overall economy, resulting in projected insolvency of the HI trust fund in the next seven years.”
According to the Paragon Health Institute, Medicare for All, aka universal health care, “would increase federal spending by roughly $44 trillion over its first decade.”
To put that number in perspective, consider that the total national debt just surpassed $40 trillion.
With Florida being home to millions of retirees who paid into the Medicare system and are likely well aware of the fraught financial state of the program, I find it difficult to believe that most elder Floridians will favor Nixon’s shoddy Medicare for All farce.
The “free” stuff canard may work in Democratic Party primaries among young, uniformed, historically illiterate voters, but I think selling Medicare for All in Florida as a whole is a fool’s errand at best.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
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Image: Florida House of Representatives