While the general tenor of the post is correct, there are a few problems…
1) The comparison of Medicare costs to private costs is inappropriate. Medicare, by charter, cares for older, sicker people than private insurance. Hence it is hardly surprising its costs have risen more.
2) The supply of doctors in the US has long been artificially constrained by the AMA’s refusal to graduate more MD’s. The high ratio of applicants to medical school to those accepted shows that plenty could leave the field and there would be those eager to step up to the job.
3) The private system has glaring holes in it – it is unaffordable to many, and utterly unavailable (outside of employer-based insurance) to those with pre-existing conditions.
The government will do a worse job than any alternative, but the current system is on the rocks and foundering, and that is not just due to government.
