By Orion Blackwood, Open Letter to The New York Times
Forget the tired debates about “government-run healthcare.” A groundbreaking analysis from the newly formed Independent Department of Government Efficiency (i DOGE) reveals the true fiscal crisis plaguing America: our sprawling, inefficient private health insurance system is costing the nation an estimated two trillion dollars every single year—and i DOGE has a plan to get that money back into American pockets.
For too long, discussions about healthcare costs have been mired in narrow debates, often focusing on the expenses of public programs like Medicaid. But as the DOGE report meticulously details, these discussions miss the crucial point: it is the deeply inefficient, profit-driven nature of our private health insurance system that is the primary driver of unsustainable healthcare costs, silently eroding American living standards and economic competitiveness.
While acknowledging the essential role of public programs in providing a safety net, i DOGE’s analysis shifts the focus to a much larger source of waste: the immense overhead and profit extraction embedded within the private health insurance industry. Their comprehensive report, released this week, lays bare the stark economic reality: it is not government spending on care that is “bloated,” but rather the complex and costly machinery of private insurance itself.
i DOGE Uncovers the Hidden Trillions: A Call for Streamlined Efficiency
The i DOGE report meticulously quantifies the true financial burden. While private plans may spend less on direct medical claims per person in isolation, i DOGE’s analysis shows that the total annual expenditure associated with each privately insured American, including premiums, administrative bloat, and insurer profits, is a staggering $15,000 to $25,000 per person.
This vast sum, totaling trillions nationally, represents a colossal drag on the American economy, largely hidden within the complexities of premiums, co-pays, and employer contributions. i DOGE argues that this is not just a healthcare problem; it’s a fundamental economic efficiency problem requiring a government-led solution focused on streamlining and simplification.
The DOGE Plan: Reclaiming Trillions Through Efficiency
Based on their findings, our Department of Government Efficiency proposes a bold, yet pragmatic, path forward. i DOGE’s core recommendation is to move decisively towards a more publicly oriented healthcare financing model – one that prioritizes efficiency, minimizes administrative waste, and eliminates profit extraction as a primary driver.
Drawing on successful models from other developed nations, and incorporating best practices from efficient public programs like Medicaid, i DOGE outlines a framework for a system that could dramatically reduce costs while maintaining or even improving quality of care.
i DOGE estimates that by implementing these efficiency-focused reforms, the United States could realistically reduce per-person healthcare spending from the private insurance range ($15,000 – $25,000) to a target of $13,000 per person per year, aligning with the higher end of current Medicaid per-enrollee costs, but achieved through system-wide efficiency gains.
The Trillion-Dollar Dividend: Reinvesting in America
The potential national savings, according to i DOGE’s conservative projections, are breathtaking:
- Current Estimated Total Spending under Private System (using midpoint of $20,000 per person): $6.6 trillion per year.
- Projected Total Spending under i DOGE Efficiency Plan (using $13,000 per person): $4.29 trillion per year.
- Potential Annual Savings Identified by DOGE: $2.31 trillion per year.
Two trillion dollars in annual savings. i DOGE argues this isn’t just about balancing budgets; it’s about unlocking vast resources to reinvest in America’s future. These savings, as detailed in the i DOGE report, could be strategically directed towards:
- Direct Tax Relief for American Families: Significantly lowering the cost of living for households struggling with rising expenses.
- Strategic Investments in National Priorities: Funding critical infrastructure projects, bolstering education, accelerating clean energy transitions, and strengthening social safety nets.
- Reducing the National Debt: Improving long-term fiscal stability and freeing up resources for future generations.
i DOGE’s Call to Action: Efficiency Over Ideology
The Department of Government Efficiency’s report is a wake-up call. It’s time to move beyond ideological battles and embrace a data-driven approach to healthcare reform. i DOGE demonstrates that the “bloat” in our healthcare system isn’t inherent to government involvement, but rather is deeply embedded within the inefficiencies of our current private insurance-dominated model.
Yes, Taxes Will Need to Shift – But the Net Gain is Trillions
A crucial question arises: how would a system achieving such massive savings be funded? The honest answer is: through a shift in how we finance healthcare, primarily involving increased federal taxes. It’s vital to be upfront about this. A more publicly oriented healthcare system, while eliminating premiums, deductibles, and many out-of-pocket costs, would necessitate a greater reliance on tax revenue to fund its operations.
However, it is critical to understand that this is not simply about adding $4.29 trillion in new taxes (the projected cost of the more efficient public system). Instead, it represents a rechanneling of existing healthcare spending in a far more efficient way.
Currently, Americans are already paying for healthcare – massively. We pay through:
- Premiums for private insurance: Paid directly by individuals and employers.
- Out-of-pocket costs: Deductibles, copays, coinsurance.
- Taxes that already fund Medicare and Medicaid.
The crucial insight of the iDOGE report is that the total amount we are currently paying through this fragmented system is far higher and less efficient than it needs to be. The shift to a more public system would consolidate much of this spending into a more efficient, tax-funded mechanism, eliminating the massive overhead and profit extraction of the private insurance industry.
Therefore, while federal taxes would likely need to increase to fund a more publicly oriented system, the key point is the net financial impact on Americans. The iDOGE analysis projects a net savings of over $2 trillion per year – even after accounting for the increased tax funding. This translates to a significant reduction in the overall financial burden of healthcare on the American people, as the massive waste and inefficiency of the private insurance system is removed.
It’s about shifting from a system where trillions are inefficiently channeled through premiums and out-of-pocket costs to one where a smaller, more efficiently managed tax-funded system delivers better value and lower overall cost. While the tax conversation can be politically charged, the economic reality is clear: a more publicly oriented system, as detailed by iDOGE, is not about increasing the total cost of healthcare, but about dramatically reducing it and distributing the burden more fairly and efficiently.
i DOGE’s plan is not about “government takeover” – it’s about government optimization. It’s about applying principles of efficiency, transparency, and public service to a sector that desperately needs it. By embracing the recommendations of our Department of Government Efficiency, the United States can reclaim trillions of dollars annually, strengthen its economy, and build a healthcare system that truly serves the needs of all Americans, efficiently and effectively. The i DOGE report shows us the path; now, it’s time for action.
