A Competing Public Option for Health Care

Unnoticed and unappreciated by health care pundits, the VA health care system has become a model for cheap, effective health care. The drawback--it doesn't fit with the argument that the government can't effectively deliver services more cheaply than the private sector. Philip Longman's book on the VA system, now in its second edition describes how the VA system has emerged as the most promising model for future health care in the US.

If we are serious about solving our health care mess, we need to look at solutions that are actually working.