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Find a better source than Jimmy Smits.
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"Medicare’s overhead is 2 to 3 percent while the overhead of private-sector insurance companies ranges from 15 to 30 percent. If you give Medicare a dollar in taxes, Medicare will keep 2 or 3 cents to pay the salaries of its staff, its utility bills etc., and will pay out 97 to 98 cents to doctors. But if you give a dollar in premiums to an insurance company, it will keep 15 to 30 cents for overhead and pay out 70 to 85 cents for medical services."
zmag.org