The term is widely used by the American media and pressure groups. Some have even stretched use of the term to cover any regulation of health care, publicly financed or not. The term is often used to criticize publicly provided health care outside the US, but rarely to describe similar health care programs there, such as the Veterans Administration clinics and hospitals, military health care, or the single payer programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Many conservatives use the term to evoke negative sentiment toward health care reform that would involve increasing government involvement in the US health care system.
The term is widely used by the American media and pressure groups. Some have even stretched use of the term to cover any regulation of health care, publicly financed or not. The term is often used to criticize publicly provided health care outside the US, but rarely to describe similar health care programs there, such as the Veterans Administration clinics and hospitals, military health care, or the single payer programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Many conservatives use the term to evoke negative sentiment toward health care reform that would involve increasing government involvement in the US health care system.