$50 trillion?

Insane. Fifty trillion dollars is close to the currently-mentioned, 10-year program cost (or $5 trillion per year) for "Medicare for All." Simple math - evenly dividing $1 billion over close to 1/3 of a billion U.S. citizens results in $3 each. One trillion equates to $3,000 each. So, evenly distributing a $5 trillion-dollar-per-year medical benefit across the entire population amounts to 5 times $3,000, or $15,000 for every person.

However, people already on Medicare and employees and families already insured by large employers are not in a great need for more help.

Guessing a bit, if 50 million citizens will actually benefit from a new program, the $5 trillion divided over this group would provide a $100,000 benefit for each one, per year, or $400,000 for a family of four. I repeat - insane. How about a much smaller program, awarded according to need, to cover routine doctor care, vaccinations and catastrophic care not currently provided by other programs.

And, how about addressing the high cost of drugs? Why does the same pill cost $10 dollars here and only seventy-three cents in another country?

Peter Wohld

Glen Ellyn