Health Care? The Government Can't Even Run a Railroad
• Barry Goldwater, Jr./The American SpectatorNowhere in the debate regarding health care has anyone asked if the government is able and qualified to run such a system. Before we ask the government to manage universal health care, let's check them out. How successful has the federal government been in managing agencies, programs and businesses? Let's look at Medicare. The president and Congress propose to extend Medicare to cover the 47 million people who lack health care coverage. Did anyone remind Congress that Medicare is broke? It's rampant with fraud and abuse. It is estimated that Medicare and Medicaid fraud cost taxpayers $60 billion per year. Medicare is required by law to pay full retail prices for drugs that could be obtained for far less in a competitive-bidding system. Health insurance companies are required by state regulators to maintain a reserve for future liabilities. Every working stiff in this country is required to pay premium taxes into Medicare, which has no reserve. The federal government has
