Dr. Daniel Bryant continues to advocate Medicare for all (“Letter to the editor: Medicare for all would let companies focus on business,” Nov. 4), terming the program a “separate insurance system.”
Consider, however, that the federal government currently spends about $800 billion net of payroll taxes and premiums on Medicare and Medicaid. Add in the state Medicaid costs and we’re well over $1 trillion annually.
About 55 million of us are on Medicare; Medicaid covers another 66 million or so. So at this point, everyone who has a job pretty much carries the health costs of someone who’s old or unable to pay for themselves. We can spend an additional $1.7 trillion, I suppose, to cover the remaining 155 million of us, but where does the money come from?
I certainly agree with Dr. Bryant on one thing: People should focus on their proper business and leave health care economics to the economists.
Tom Zimmerman
South Casco
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