Dick Morris's piece insisting that Obama health proposal would force some new hideous level of rationing onto the American medical system is curious. It appears the same week as a study in Health Affairs showing that Medicare beneficiaries are far happier with their government-run health plan than are under-65 workers covered by employer insurance.

And being elderly, people in Medicare need many more medical services. According to the Health Affairs article, Medicare beneficiaries were twice as likely to rate their health care “fair or poor” as were the workers.  They were more than three times as likely to have multiple chronic conditions.

Yet only 32 percent of the Medicare beneficiaries reported a negative experience in getting their medical bills paid by insurance, compared with 44 percent of those with employer coverage. And 61 percent of Medicare beneficiaries said they received “excellent or very good” quality of care in the past year, against just under half of those in employer-based plans.

Yet Morris melodramatically warns that the “ax” of government-run health care “will fall on the oldest and the sickest among us.” Well, tell that to the oldest and sickest Americans.

www.fromaharrop.com