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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Robert Reich (Mr. President: Why Medicare Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution)

Robert Reich (Mr. President: Why Medicare Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution)

Mr. President: Why Medicare Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution

I hope when he tells America how he aims to tame future budget deficits the President doesn’t accept conventional Wasington wisdom that the biggest problem in the federal budget is Medicare (and its poor cousin Medicaid).

Medicare isn’t the problem. It’s the solution.

The real problem is the soaring costs of health care that lie beneath Medicare. They’re costs all of us are bearing in the form of soaring premiums, co-payments, and deductibles.

Americans spend more on health care per person than any other advanced nation and get less for our money. Yearly public and private healthcare spending is $7,538 per person. That’s almost two and a half times the