Ardent foe of socialized medicine Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is planning to undergo hernia surgery this month in Canada, where medical care is publicly funded and universally provided.
Paul, who is not covered by the Canadian health care system, will pay out of pocket for the operation, an aide told Politico. The surgery is set to take place at Shouldice Hernia Hospital in Ontario, a “world renowned hospital,” the senator’s spokeswoman Kelsey Cooper said.
Information about the surgery, scheduled for Jan. 21, was revealed in court papers in Paul’s civil lawsuit against neighbor Rene Boucher, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.
According to Paul, the surgery — which will cost as much as $8,000 — is linked to injuries he suffered in 2017 when Boucher attacked him as he mowed his lawn. Boucher pleaded guilty last year to attacking Paul in a dispute over yard care and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Shouldice Hernia Hospital markets itself as a “global leader” in hernia repair, according to its website. It’s privately owned, but “almost all of its work” is done under contract with the Ontario government, according to the Globe and Mail, and it accepts Ontario’s Hospital Insurance Plan, which is part of the nation’s public health care system, the Courier-Journal reported.
Cooper was furious about media coverage of the surgery, blasting it as “fake news.”
“This is more fake news on a story that has been terribly reported from day one,” she wrote in an email to the Courier-Journal. “This is a private, world renowned hospital separate from any system, and people come from around the world to pay cash for their services.”
Paul has called universal health care “slavery” because it would “conscript” doctors and their staff members to provide care.
Check out Paul’s comments on universal health care 50 seconds into the video below.