the reality of it is you have DEM leaders in the Senate over the last 13 years that have imposed their own 'bullying' threats to their members (especially NEW members) that if they don't all vote as a 'unified' party, those members will be taken off the various committees they serve on. Plus for 8 of those years, the DEM Senate leader, Reid, wouldn't even bring bills up for a vote that a REP House passed in order to protect BO from having to be the 'bad guy' by issuing vetoes, especially if those bills were popular enough with DEM members that they would actually vote with REPS and pass it. He wouldn't take that risk. You also have a DEM leader in Schumer who, with regard to Obamacare, has stated publicly that IF the REPS take 'repeal' off the table, it's the ONLY way the DEMS would present their ideas for 'fixing' Obamacare.......they are still locked into saving BO's and their legacy bill (the ONLY legislation they passed in 8 years that Trump didn't have the power to reverse with an EO). They KNOW it's bad legislation but can't swallow that loss,
As for your suggestion about 'buying into' Medicare.......again, you are talking about a massive government takeover of healthcare for the entire country and when you look at how 'well' Medicare, the VA, and Medicaid has worked over the years since they've been implemented, all three have been disasters for those affected by it. It used to be that there were strict requirements to be eligible for the welfare branch for Medicaid and now more than 45 million are on it because BO lowered those requirements to include people who would have been laughed at for even applying for it. The VA has become so corrupt, especially with a BONUS system that should NEVER have been put into place, that employees cooked the books to get those bonuses all at the expense of the real care for those who sacrificed too much for them and they can't be fired over it because of the UNIONS. Medicare has been cut so drastically because of Obamacare that most seniors are barely getting care anymore because so many doctors won't take on new patients, including refusing Medicaid patients. AND it doesn't help any that millions of people who ran out of unemployment benefits under BO that they used the 'mental stress' excuse to become eligible to get on Social Security Disability benefits instead and that program INCLUDES Medicare coverage.
There are also caps on how much you have taken out of your paycheck for Social Security and Medicare benefits......there should be a total elimination of those caps so that no matter how much you make or how many years you work, you should continue to pay into the system because the FACTS prove that most people who collect back on those benefits later on, unless they die right away upon retirement, they ALWAYS collect far more thousands of dollars than they ever paid into it. So their claim that 'I paid into the system and I want my benefits' is bogus. When there isn't enough money to pay everyone because of low participation over time and you have another government healthcare program taking funds from the OTHER program to help pay for it, and you have massive 'subsidies' being given to people to pay for their premiums, you have nothing but crap sandwiches being thrown out to the taxpayers who ARE paying to cover those who AREN'T, what did you expect would happen?