Weiner says he will institute a single-payer health care system for New York City

In a last-ditch attempt to win votes (from the uninformed), New York City candidate for mayor Anthony Weiner is promising a single payer health plan for the City. His ads say his plan will cut out the insurance company middle man and save 20%.

I assume you are a regular reader of this blog and you already know how dumb that promise is, not to mention impossible to fulfill. On the chance you believe what he is saying, I can assure you insurance companies don’t add 20% to the cost of health care that any single payer program can eliminate.** Beyond all that, think about the absurdity of adding a city plan to fifty separate state plans plus federal plans.

Weiner lives in more than one fantasy land.

** Recall that the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to spend a minimum of 80% of premiums on claims and direct benefits to the insured so Weiner’s plan would have to run with no, zero, zilch administration of any kind. Yeah, that kind of stupid.