Medicare Part D: A Republican Success Story
In
Tuesday's presidential debate, Mitt Romney said 'government does nothing as
well as the private sector.'
Judging
from Mr. Romney's incessant flip-flopping -- most recently manifest by
renunciation of his 47% comment -- Mitt believes very little of what he
says. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/does-medicart-part-d-make-the-case-for-paul-ryans-plan/2011/05/19/AGfPbyLH_blog.html
He certainly does not believe that the private sector is always more efficient than the public sector.
No Republican -- not one! -- contends that Washington's largest budgetary outlay -- military defense -- would be better handled by the private sector.
However, it is not my present intention to spotlight Mr. Romney's flip-floppy falsehood.
Rather, it is my present intention to praise The Republican Party.
In
addition to the obvious instance of government-operated Defense providing
better military service than private-sector “armies," consider The
Republican Party's Medicare
Part D Drug Benefit.
Although
it pains my partisan heart to admit that this Republican-sponsored program has
been successful – indeed, wildly successful – “the facts are the facts.” (I
realize this epistemological premise -- originally "settled" by
Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century -- will be hotly debated by all
Republicans.)
As
a result of Medicare Part D, the entire healthcare system -- providers and
beneficiaries alike – has benefited from strikingly cost-effective efficiencies
ever since the Republican program was put in place. http://www.phrma.org/issues/medicare
In
similar vein, the factual record is equally clear on another front.
Private medical insurance -- as a means for achieving universal care -- has been an abject failure.
Alternatively,
Medicare -- despite its inefficiencies (and physician-driven abuse) --
provides cost-effective, high-quality care that encompasses tens of
millions of Americans who would have been jettisoned to the jaws of Social
Darwinism if their fate lay in the hands of private insurance companies.
Currently,
I am accepting all “even money” bets offered by naysayers who contend Obamacare
will increase per patient cost while also diminishing health “outcomes.”
Health
outcomes will not diminish significantly - and are likely to go up judging by
other developed nations with significant government involvement in healthcare -
and per patient cost will decline significantly.
***
(I
do not argue that the Republican-sponsored drug plan is optimum. Clearly,
government can do an even better job than both the private sector and the
government program currently in place. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/does-medicart-part-d-make-the-case-for-paul-ryans-plan/2011/05/19/AGfPbyLH_blog.html)
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