Medicare for all is a meaningless slogan

SENATORS Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker are all for it, as are Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand. “Medicare for all” has also become a rallying cry for many Democratic activists as the mid-terms approach. Like “repeal and replace”, the Republican Party’s three-word proposal for improving on Obamacare, “Medicare for all” sounds good but is largely meaningless. Ask any five Democratic senators what they have in mind and you will get five different answers.The urge to reform American health care deserves support. America is the only rich country to lack universal coverage. Even in a booming economy, 12% of American adults remain uninsured. Though the best care they receive is world-beating, the system as a whole has high costs and disappointing results. America spends 17% of GDP on health care, the highest of any rich country (see chart), but in return achieves an average life expectancy no better than that of the formerly communist countries of eastern Europe. Even Americans with good insurance plans find dealing with their providers maddening.