Cheap
Posted by Atrios
I was struck last night by this line:
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BUSH: I would. Thank you.
I want to remind people listening tonight that a plan is not a litany of complaints, and a He just said he wants everybody to be able to buy in to the same plan that senators and congressmen get. That costs the government $7,700 per family. If every family in America signed up, like the senator suggested, if would cost us $5 trillion over 10 years.
Leave aside for a minute Bush pretending that Kerry was calling for a government.
My first thought was... wow! That's actually pretty cheap. In fact, I think Bush just made an extraordinary argument for some version of a mandatory single payer system.
According to the CBO, health care expenditures in
2002 were equal to $5,450
per capita. So, assuming Bush's numbers are correct (and who am I to question him?), bring it on baby! $7,700 per family is a hell of a lot less than $5,450 per person. The health care revolution is here! Bush is its fearless leader!
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