Medicare for All Means Innovation for None

Leading Democratic presidential primary contenders have now almost unanimously endorsed some sort of Medicare for All proposal. Public support to expand the universal health services currently granted to older Americans via Medicare to the entire country is now in the majority, and the move would replicate publicly-funded universal healthcare in other developed nations.

Many progressive and moderate Democrats alike have supported Medicare for All, touting superior access and lower healthcare costs of single-payer, socialized systems. But healthcare coverage alone does not mean better health outcomes, and a brief review of Medicare's real-world results reveals a chief problem of socialized healthcare — its destruction of innovation.