Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the subject of fierce criticism on Monday after it was announced he will head to Canada to have major hernia surgery, repairing injuries sustained when he was brutally attacked by his neighbor in Kentucky.
Paul was attacked by neighbor Rene Boucher in 2017 while doing yard work. Boucher, who potentially faced serious prison time, later pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress and served 30 days in jail.
Upon Paul’s announcement, the media seized on the apparent irony: Paul, a fierce critic of universal health care and socialism as a whole, is being forced to concede his principles in order to receive the best care possible, which will come from the land of socialized medicine.
Paul is not leaving the U.S. to receive superior care in the name of socialism. Instead, the outpatient hospital where Paul is scheduled for surgery later this month — Shouldice Hernia Hospital — is a world renowned hospital known as the “global leader in non-mesh hernia repair.”
What’s more, the hospital is not owned by the Canadian government. Rather, the hospital remains privately owned, grandfathered into the Canadian health care system when the country implemented universal health care years ago. Additionally, Paul will pay for his surgery in cash; he is suing Boucher for the cost of the procedure.- READ MORE