It doesn't matter whether that assertion is true. It's almost a dumb a question as wondering about whose check writing costs are lower. (I've never seen someone wonder about that wrt defense spending.) The closest relevant question is whether govt healthcare is more effective. The folks currently covered by US govt paid healthcare aren't being covered for less and aren't having better outcomes than the folks covered by the private system. (I'm ignoring horrorshows like the Indian Health Service. They'd almost be better off if we gave them blankets infected with diseases and cases of whiskey.)
Then there's the "fairness" question. I know several folks who pay a lot of taxes who are "heavy" and/or old. On what basis are you planning to deny them govt funded healthcare?
On the other end of the scale, your choice to subsidize an activity does not obligate the recipients of that subsidy to minimize your costs.
In any case, I don't think your "closest relevant question" is well-formed. For one thing, no one is proposing "govt [sic] healthcare". For another, though what you write is frustratingly vague, it looks like you're proposing to compare outcomes between those 65 and over who are covered by Medicare with those who are young and healthy and covered through their employers -- obviously the populations are going to have very different outcomes.
Your response was to claim that the govt could write checks cheaply. It's fair to point out that that response isn't relevant to the question.
> For one thing, no one is proposing "govt [sic] healthcare".
Sure they are - that's what the "govt option" is.
We have experience with lots of experience with "govt healthcare" in the US outside of Medicare and the VA. We have the Indian Health Service. We have the various state programs. and so on.
Besides, proponents of ObamaCare can't honestly ignore Medicare. They're fond of saying "we can save 30%". Since the elderly get 70% of today's spending, getting close to 30% savings means that Obamacare must reduce the cost of Medicare or it has to cut all other healthcare spending to near 0.
I'm actually all for letting Obama experiment on folks who get healthcare from govt funding (both actual govt programs and govt employees who get private healthcare). If you include federal, state, and local, that's about as many people as are currently in the private system
I think that he should have free rein to do whatever he thinks will work with those folks and the amount of money that we're spending on them today. However, in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, the per-person budget should be cut by 5%. Since that's less than 20% and he's promising 30%, that's a slam dunk, and he can even use the savings to bring more people into the program.
If he's right, folks on this govt plan will be healthier and so on and the savings will be too big to ignore. If he's wrong, govt employees and the like will revolt.
Deal?
Why don't you want to give him a chance?
Or, are you still trying to argue that check writing efficiency determines health care cost and quality?
I think we have different ideas about what economic efficiency entails. I'm not sure that "efficiency" at wasting money is a good thing, nor is it usually what is meant in the context of providing services. (I have not yet had an opportunity to read your link, however, so perhaps this is answered in it).
The government is unbeatably efficient at writing checks. I don't know where you get this notion that somehow the government would be an inefficient purveyor of health insurance. It simply isn't true.