Medicare Loops

"Medicare for Everybody" is becoming a slogan in the left-wing blogosphere.  Does it sound so bad?  Surely private insurance deserves a whacking for its high overhead costs and its general willingness to not cover people, screw people over, and deny just claims. 

But also recall it was only a few years ago that the federal government expanded Medicare coverage to prescription drugs.  Private insurance has been covering prescription drugs for — what — about twenty-five years?

I do not need to repeat to loyal MR readers that prescription drugs are about the most useful and most life-saving of all forms of treatment.  Loyal readers also will know that greater Medicare access, as measured by more doctor visits, doesn’t seem to improve health care outcomes.  But drugs do.

So when it comes to the one thing that really works, government insurance was twenty or more years behind private insurance.

In case you didn’t already know.

Are you familiar with the early musical works of Steve Reich, you know the taped loop recordings, like "It’s Gonna Rain"?  A phrase is repeated over and over again.

The next time you hear "Medicare for Everybody" I want you to also hear:

"So when it comes to the one thing that really works, government
insurance was twenty or more years behind private insurance."

"So when it comes to the one thing that really works, government
insurance was twenty or more years behind private insurance."

"So when it comes to the one thing that really works, government
insurance was twenty or more years behind private insurance."

Etc.

I thank a loyal MR reader for making this point to me.

Oh, had I mentioned that the 21st century is supposed to be the century of the biomedical sciences?