Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor and one of the richest individuals on the planet, spent more than $500 million just in advertising to win the Democratic nomination for president only to drop out of the race a couple days ago. When the final accounting is done he may have spent more than $700 million, which would’ve included the salaries for an army of campaign workers around the country.
The greatest colossal failure in American politics need not have had to happen. Bloomberg, one of the country’s great philanthropists, could have used the hundreds of millions of dollars that were spent on advertising and salaries with the more than $200 million fellow billionaire Tom Steyer spent, and together both billionaires literally could have funded 10,000 nonprofit health centers, which could replace Medicaid and save American taxpayers $600 billion per year… forever.
As of November 2019 more than 71 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. If one nonprofit health center could provide free medical care for 7,100 individuals, then 10,000 centers would need to be created throughout the country. If the cost to equip one of the centers with medical equipment, furniture, computers and other hardware would cost $100,000 per center, the total cost for the 10,000 centers would be $1 billion. (Foundation grants and other contributions could reduce this amount substantially.) Hospitals, big-box stores, churches, synagogues and other religious institutions could provide the space needed for a nonprofit health center in their communities.
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