Paul Ryan on Single-Payer

As Sam Husseini reports, there is a fair amount of floundering and disingenuousness in Ryan's remarks. It's not the case, for example, that government-run health care has failed wherever it's been tried. The actual track record of government-run health care is good, including in the United States: The VA health care system is highly regarded. Moreover, Ryan's own plan is "patient-centered" only in the sense that it shifts costs onto patients without doing anything to slow medical inflation or end fee-for-service payments.

Also, anyone who thinks that U.S. health care is not rationed hasn't been paying attention. Ryan would state his case more honestly (and accurately) if he said what he apparently believes: De facto rationing by the free market is acceptable, while policy-based rationing by government to assure equal access is not.