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Over in The Washington Post, Jacob Hacker defends ye olde socialized medicine.
How is it possible to cover everyone without driving up costs? The one-word answer is "government" -- specifically, government's ability to lower service prices, streamline administration and get a better deal on drugs, thus reducing medical inflation over time. And these are only the direct savings. Reducing the burden of health care on employers will allow them to compete more effectively (and on a level playing field) with foreign producers. Just as important, making coverage affordable for everyone will allow people to change jobs or start their own businesses without the fear of catastrophic costs or the hassle, expense and inadequacy of individually purchased coverage.Maybe socialized medicine doesn't sound so bad after all.Indeed, two of the leading critics of socialized medicine, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, base their critique on the fact that they live in America, and as rich guys, got the "best care in the world!" Well, maybe so. But both received that care while on government health insurance. Rudy was covered through the group insurance market regulated by the state of New York and known as The Empire Plan. McCain has purchased his insurance through the Federal Employee's Health Benefits Plan. In both cases, we're talking about government-regulated group markets where the state sets the rules and private insurers compete for business. That's exactly the model offered by Clinton, Obama, and Hacker. But Giuliani and McCain, it seems, don't want to share the "best health care in the world" with the rest of us.
