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More than 130 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. America’s elderly and most vulnerable citizens depend on these programs. But both face fiscal crises. ... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a powerful tool for improving quality and reducing costs: the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. ... This administration plans to lead the Innovation Center in a new direction. On Wednesday we are issuing a “request for information” to collect ideas on the path forward. (Seema Verma, 9/19)

Sanders’s plan would come at a steep price: likely more than US$14 trillion over the first decade, based on an estimate I did of a previous version. There is, however, a simpler and less costly path toward single-payer, and it may have a better chance of success: Simply strike the words “who are age 65 or over” from the 1965 amendments to the Social Security Act that created Medicare and, voila, everyone (who wants) would be covered by the existing Medicare program. While this wouldn’t be single-payer – in which the government covers all health care costs – and private insurers would continue to operate alongside Medicare, it would be a substantial improvement over the current system. (Gerald Friedman, 9/20)

Senator Bernie Sanders’s new health care plan, called “Medicare for All,” would eliminate private health insurance and have the government pay for 100 percent of all health services. It's not going to happen, but it does point the way toward a system that could work better: A public-private hybrid akin to what Japan has. (Noah Smith, 9/19)