> which is why Medicare can claim to spend less on administration

In addition to this, it's worth pointing out that the idea that Medicare is the solution to all of our problems because of the cost savings of administration is way over-stated.

There's a pretty great breakdown of where per capita costs go in the US vs comparable OECD countries -> https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/what-drives-health...

Administrative costs make up a tiny percentage of the overall cost differential. You could basically zero it out, and it would still hardly make a dent on the overall cost difference.