[jyl]

Healthcare providers would probably fear this as they can charge higher prices outside of Medicare. If many under-65 y/o's chose Medicare coverage, the healthcare industry would be forced to become more efficient and some people would make less money.

But ultimately healthcare prices have to come down. Healthcare inflation is 2-3X overall GDP, we spend up to 2X what other developed countries spend on healthcare per capita, healthcare costs are a big burden on businesses (fastest-growing expense, exceeds business profits) and on individuals (leading cause of bankruptcy). The status quo will eventually break us, never mind any hope of getting more people covered. So I think the healthcare industry will have to take its medicine, as it were. The trick will be to make sure the impact is less on the parts of the industry that really heal people and more on the parts that don't.