Today we go back into the archives to find a quote that is every bit as timely today as it was when first issued. We will also play a game: name the author. The rules are simple. If you can identify the source, feel free to add it to the comments (no cheating).
I know about a health care system that has been highly successful in containing costs, yet provides excellent care. And the story of this system’s success provides a helpful corrective to anti-government ideology. For the government doesn’t just pay the bills in this system — it runs the hospitals and clinics… our very own Veterans Health Administration, whose success story is one of the best-kept secrets in the American policy debate
AND
The secret of its success is the fact that it’s a universal, integrated system. Because it covers all veterans, the system doesn’t need to employ legions of administrative staff to check patients’ coverage and demand payment from their insurance companies. Because it’s integrated, providing all forms of medical care, it has been able to take the lead in electronic record-keeping and other innovations that reduce costs, ensure effective treatment and help prevent medical errors.
Alright, if you need to cheat, you can find the entire quote and the identity of the author here.
PILEUS 
Oh, that’s timely, alright. Throwing a spotlight on a “success” created by cooking the books . . .
My uncle moved away from his lifelong home city when he retired. Why? So his nearest VA hospital wouldn’t be Milwaukee, an embarrassingly outdated facility. And now we discover the VA’s been cooking the books for years about wait times.
And what’s-his-face (I read the page, but already forgot) doesn’t consider that the VA he’s describing was a PLAYER in the market, and not the MARKET ITSELF, as things are becoming under Obamacare.
Beeyooootiful.
fwiw,
budget of the Dept of Vtn Affairs in 2009 = about $88 b
budget in 2014 = about $150 B
budget in 2006 = about $74 B
Fucking idiot. Perfect NYTimes columnist.