Even a Koch brothers-funded attempt to trash Medicare for All can't hide the truth ...

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1. Even Libertarians Admit Medicare for All Would Save Trillions

A new study from a libertarian think tank admits that Medicare for All would save a whopping $2 trillion.

Excerpt:

At first glance, it is strange that the Mercatus Center, which is libertarian in its orientation and heavily funded by the libertarian Koch family, would publish a report this positive about Medicare for All. The claim that “even the Koch organizations say it will save money while covering everyone” provides a useful bit of rhetoric for proponents of the policy.

But the real game here for Mercatus is to bury the money-saving finding in the report’s tables while headlining the incomprehensibly large $32.6 trillion number in order to trick dim reporters into splashing that number everywhere and freaking out. This is a strategy that already appears to be working, as the Associated Press headline reads: “Study: ‘Medicare for all’ projected to cost $32.6 trillion.”

Messaging strategy aside, there is room to quibble with Blahous’s positive findings. He assumes administrative costs will only drop from 13 percent to 6 percent for those currently privately insured. But, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare’s administrative costs have consistently been below 2 percent. He assumes utilization of health services will increase by 11 percent, but aggregate health service utilization is ultimately dependent on the capacity to provide services, meaning utilization could hit a hard limit below the level he projects.

But even if you take the report’s headline figures at face value, the picture it paints is that of an enormous bargain. We get to insure every single person in the country, virtually eliminate cost-sharing, and save everyone from the hell of constantly changing health insurance all while saving money. You would have to be a fool to pass that offer up.

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/07/medicare-for-all-mercatus-center-report

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2. That study going around on Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All plan comes with a big catch ...

That study going around on Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All plan comes with a big catch — the US would actually be saving money overall on healthcare


Excerpt:

A new report from the libertarian Mercatus Center drew attention as it showed Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All plan would cost the federal government an additional $32.6 trillion over 10 years.

But the Mercatus report also showed that the national health expenditure — the total amount spent on healthcare in the US by the federal government, states, businesses, and individuals — would actually come in below current projections under Sanders' plan.

So while the price tag for the federal government would increase, the total cost of healthcare would go down while also providing healthcare to more than 30 million uninsured Americans.

The savings would come from a variety of places, such as the government's ability to leverage its bargaining power into lower prescription drug costs and mandating that all healthcare providers take the lower Medicare payment rate.

https://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-sanders-medicare-for-all-plan-cost-save-money-2018-7

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3. Thank you, Koch brothers, for accidentally making the case for Medicare for All!

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