"Do you think the government should stay out of Medicare" is a badly designed survey question for two reasons. First, it implies that the government is currently "out of Medicare," thereby suggesting the conclusion that so disturbs Noah.

Second, it can be understood simply to mean, "Do you think the government should leave Medicare unchanged," and plenty of people have a reason to answer "yes" to that.

Noah seems to think that understanding of whether Medicare is a government program is relevant to whether one believes that government-paid health care is a good thing for all. Nonsense. Medicare is a government program that benefits one segment of the population. It is perfectly rational, though self-interested, for Medicare's beneficiaries to believe that extending similar coverage to others is undesirable if it means that their benefits will be in any way curtailed.