[Cacophonous]

If General Motors spends $1,000 per person per year on its prescription drug plan for retirees, and Uncle Sam comes along and takes them off the rolls for $800 apiece, you can bet that America becomes more "competitive."

Are you serious? You think Uncle can do ANYTHING better and less expensively than the private sector?

[Alberta's Child]

Are you serious? You think Uncle [Sam] can do ANYTHING better and less expensively than the private sector?

One of the advantages of having Uncle Sam involved in anything is that he can slash costs by delivering a sub-standard, sh!tty product without having to worry about getting sued. Ask any doctor how much he gets paid by a private insurance company and how much he gets paid by Medicare for the same procedure.

This is exactly what is going on here. Give it another 15-20 years, and "government-paid insurance" will cost $25 per year and will cover nothing more than a couple of hospital visits from a dancing medicine man.