Calling Dr. Gupta on Health Economics

Is CNN trying to out Fox Faux News for stupidest commentary on cable? Dr. Sanjay Gupta might come across as a nice guy who knows something about his specialty, which clearly is not health care economics. Dean Baker notes:

CNN’s health care analyst is now telling people that Medicare is going bankrupt. What does this mean? Medicare’s costs are projected to exceed its revenue and drain the surplus from its trust fund in a bit over a decade, but this has been true at several points in the past. Did Congress tell tens of millions of beneficiaries to get lost? No, Congress appropriated the money needed to keep the program going … If Dr. Gupta meant to imply that Medicare, as a government program is uniquely inefficient, then he is way off the mark.

The other day – Dr. Gupta got into it with Michael Moore when the former tried to claim that other countries spend more on health care when one adds in what the public sector ponies up. Max Sawicky brings us what Mr. Moore had to say – and why Mr. Moore got this one right too. If Dr. Gupta wants to play a neurosurgeon on TV – fine. But let’s stop pretending he’s an expert on everything that is health related.