universal health care

This is simply a fraud. In fact, net claims on medical malpractice haven't been going up over the last years, while premiums charged by the companies have skyrocketed. Litigation isn't driving up insurance costs; greed is. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that there is no connection between malpractice tort reform and overall health care spending.

In reality, polls show that by a 2 to 1 margin Americans prefer a universal health insurance system run by the government and financed by taxpayers over the current system. Medicare is too popular for conservatives to attack. It can be used as a baseline for other models. And the very right-wing politicians who spout such nonsense are themselves benefiting from generous government-run programs that work just fine.

Medicare isn't socialized medicine. The government doesn't run the hospitals or clinics. Patients choose their own doctors. They go to private hospitals. Expanding Medicare would simply increase coverage and cut costs by creating a system in which everyone contributes and everyone benefits. It would allow us to spend our money on health care rather than insurance company bureaucracy.

We already ration health care—by what you can afford, not by the care you need. In reality, as Medicare shows, a universal program would ensure that people get the care they need—without worrying about insurance companies not covering some tests or procedures. Health care delivery will speed up, not slow down, because less time and effort will be spent on overhead and administration. Patients will have the choice to see the doctors they want, and the same incentives for medical innovation will exist. In fact, with the overall savings that will be achieved, it should be possible to increase support for medical research.