Reply #124: I question your numbers

[midnight armadillo]

There is no reason why Medicare couldn't negotiate bulk drug purchases, vastly lowering the drug costs. Wal-mart does Rx's for $4...and that with far fewer customers than the entire US population. Tackling Medicare fraud (which is under-investigated I understand) would further save money. After some time, critical care costs should decline with improved preventative care.

Right now the US blows through ~$7500/person per year at a cost of $2.26 trillion. France, by comparison spends about $3000 per person. Adopting those numbers, a single-payer system could potentially save the US economy ~$1.3 trillion. Yes, the Medicare tax would increase (how much I don't know), but at the same time the private insurance costs (AND the personnel to plan and administer that stuff) would be dropped, creating a net savings for biz & people alike. Further, companies would have to rely more on salary to compete for workers rather than salary + health benefits, perhaps creating pressure for higher wages.