If one is caught up in party politics, then dogma and ideology takes precedence over clear thinking and data. That seems to be the case when comparing the administrative costs of Medicare (usually quoted at about 2%) versus the admin costs associated with private insurance (quoted at 20% or more.)
Kudos to Alan Katz who compares Medicare and private insurance administrative costs. The conclusion is that Medicare is cheaper, but not so much, since the methodology of counting costs can lead to distortions.
So if we have established that private insurance costs more than Medicare to administer, doesn't that beg the question of what we are getting for our money? This value question deserves more attention and needs to be examined honestly and not as a rhetorical tool.
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Thanks for the kudos. And thanks for asking the right question. Administrative costs aren't inherently bad or good. They either add value or they don't. It's time someone without an axe to grind took a deep look at that issue.
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