The New Republic Online: The Single Guy More details on Gore's health plan.

Gore told Brownstein [of the LA Times] that he would unveil his plan early next year, and that the plan would observe three principles: The actual practice of medicine would still be done through the private sector; Americans would have "choices"; and the plan would reduce spending by streamlining bureaucracy. "The system as a whole has reached a point of no return," Gore said. "It is collapsing. It is beyond saving in its current design."

Make no mistake: It's a radical overhaul. But single-payer also has clear virtues: As a general rule, the more people who belong to an insurance pool, the more thinly you spread the financial burden of illness, which can be devastating if you face it alone or within a small group. By definition, single-payer spreads the risk pool across the largest number of people possible--namely, everyone in the country. In addition, while people may associate government with excessive bureaucracy, single-payer systems devote far less money to administrative overhead than private insurance. (Among other things, insurance companies spend a ton of money on advertising.)

This isn't to say single-payer is an easy sell. Quite frankly, it may be impossible to sell sweeping health care reform--any sweeping health reform--right now, given the nation's political mood and power of special interests with a stake in the status quo. But among the proposals out there, single-payer has compelling political advantages.

Health-care has been the United States most intractable political problem for decades. No developed country in the world will trade their system for ours but it does provide the best, most advanced medical care for the rich. The problem is the amount of people who can afford the present system shrinks each year.