Why Not A Public Option for Medicare?

Paul Krugman
NYT

So, people are always asking what I would do about health care costs. One answer is that I would do all the things that are in the Affordable Care Act, and more.

But if you want a really radical proposal — but one that, unlike privatization, actually has strong evidence on its side — why not add a true public option to Medicare?

What do I mean by that? I mean creating a network of hospitals and clinics actually run by the government — a civilian VA, as Phillip Longman puts it — and giving Medicare recipients the option of using that system.

The public option would be required to spend significantly less per risk-adjusted recipient than traditional Medicare. And if it couldn’t provide care that seniors wanted given that restricted budget, it would have no takers and would close.

(More here.)