if the GOP can expand the Medicare Advantage program to enable the same insurance companies to continue to profit at the expense of people.

My experience of Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans are limited to being my grandmother's advocate and attorney in fact. I dealt with all of her paperwork through two strokes, five years of dementia, and a year in a nursing home. Plain Medicare A+B+D was the hardest to navigate for me (then in my late 30s, highly literate, and familiar with medical billing) and the most expensive for her. Her best plan was the Medicare Advantage Nursing Home plan that covered everything and cost us a fixed monthly fee.

In a choice between our exceptional employer based plans (spouse is software, I'm an academic) and Medicare Advantage, I'd prefer our employer plans, but in a choice between a Medicare Advantage plan and a Gold Level Exchange plan, I'd take the Medicare Advantage plan. (So definitely if the choice was a Silver or Bronze.) For my Smother, who is too young for Medicare and sucks at paying her bills, a Medicare Advantage plan would be a godsend (and might get her away from whatever MLM "miracle cure" advertised on Doctor Oz and into actual health care).

I don't have any love for any of the insurers, especially when they're tossing tens of millions of hooker and blow money at their C suite, but I do recognize that there are hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs that depend on the insurance industry. Using a Medicare for All with Medicare Advantage plans would preserve those jobs to a greater degree.

for the nuclear industry and the war industries.

And there are no doubt circumstances where a private plan might be narrowly tailored to appeal to certain customers, but in general Medicare has a lower overhead than private plans. And that lower overhead, combined with allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, would result in savings.

eligibles voluntarily choose it.

Some folks don't like it because they think it limits their choice of doctors.

Folks like me like it because I'm fine with some non-profit like Kaiser actually managing/coordinating my care. They make sure I get tests, etc., and try to keep me healthy. If they do that, and they make a little money off it, fine with me. Traditional Medicare is uncoordinated and sucks in a lot of ways. But if you just have to go to Marcus Welby, it's your choice. Just be prepared to pay up for a supplemental and drug plan.

I had Kaiser for awhile when I did consulting work, but when I signed up with a company plan, I dropped it. I'd go back in a second. It was very good. The only thing I didn't like was I had to use their pharmacy that wasn't open at night. Although about the time I left, they offered a plan that for a few extra bucks, I could go anywhere if I absolutely had to.

When the GOP passed their Medicare reform, they inaugurated Medicare part D. And part of that included not allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. A gift to the drug industry.

directly. Of course, we'd do a lot better if Medicare could negotiate directly, but we haven't taken that step for some reason.

I don't like giving george war bush credit for anything, but he did sign the drug act. Truthfully, it should have been done long ago by Democrats. I never understood that. I was fortunate enough to be able to pay for my mom's drugs prior to Part D in 2005. But a lot of elderly went without, or cut pills in half or thirds to make it before 2005.

The CK John Show, ladies and gentlemen.

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other that they both have harbored dreams of becoming fan dancers since earliest childhood.