In article , W. Baker wrote:
In alt.support.diabetes BJ in Texas wrote:
: Ray Bowler wrote:
: For years, Democratic lawmakers have been working to make
: sure that seniors have access to prescription drugs and
: reasonable healthcare.

: Obviously if left to the Dems you would wait for many more
: years.
: At least you are getting something.... BJ

: The Senate Democrats and Republicans had a good bill passed
: then the House Republicans destroyed it. The reason we
: haven't had a good bill in the past years is because of the
: insurance industry lobbying expecially in the last 9 years of
: Republican control.

: The Dems had control for 40+ years and nothing was done.. BJ

Well, they passed the original Medicare bill over the loud objections of
the Republicans, and, if I recall correctly, the American Medical
Association. At that time meds were not a big part of medical care,
so the were ot included.

At least in retrospect, Medicare has been a calamity. It,
and the major increase in prepaid health plans, mistakenly
called "insurance", are large causes of rising medical costs.
The claim that Medicare has low overhead is false; it is
true that the government has low overhead, but the amount
of paperwork and clerical work required is high. It is pure
welfare as the amount received is not related to what has
been contributed. And part of the cost is due to the fact
that much of the work done is prepaid.




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Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University
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