Yeah. But how is the product outcome? If you google the quality of care in the VA system, the results are mixed (note: it is being used as a political football). But I found kind of a consensus that performance was lower in the past and then in many folks eyes, is somewhat better now. It seems to have gotten bad press for awhile. Once you pull private market benchmark's, what's good?
Here's Mayo's POV...which I'd take as the experts who have used a high quality process to determine the best health outcome (note: not single payer). Seems somewhat similar to where we ended up from what I can tell...
Mayo Clinic Recommends Universal Health Insurance Plan
By MILT FREUDENHEIM
Published: September 15, 2007
The Mayo Clinic jumped into the national debate on improving health care yesterday, calling for every individual to have basic universal insurance as a step toward gradually replacing the current employer-based system.
But Mayo, in a proposal hammered out over 18 months by a panel of more than 400 health policy experts, is not advocating a government-run single-payer system. Instead, it suggested that private insurance companies be required to offer standard plans with many options, like the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan available to government workers. Applicants for this insurance could not be turned down, under the Mayo plan.
The policies would be paid for by individuals, in some cases with help from employers. Lower-income people would get government help on a sliding scale. Mr. Mekelburg, who took part in the Mayo project, said the recommendations had “a pretty good chance” of winning serious consideration from policy makers. “Mayo is extremely well respected,” he said.
Dr. Denis Cortese, the clinic’s chief executive, said that under the proposals, employees could keep their individual policies when they changed jobs, an important issue for workers. One in four changes jobs each year, and 47 million Americans of all ages do not have health insurance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/health/policy/15mayo1.html?_r=0