And it’s snowing in hell. A doctor columnist in the Wall Street Journal has made the case for single-payer. 301 health plans, and look where he works, nowhere near Chicago or Springfield. I give him props just for being able to keep up with 301 different health plans.
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It’s about time doctors began to get on board.
If coverage is universal and tax-funded, costs all around would decrease. Just about every poll has showed wide-spred public support for this – including a tax increase!
After I got done laughing out loud at the following paragraph (see below), I emailed the author a link to Dr. Crippen’s blog for a dose of reality re: single payor.
“Such a system of care [sic, single payor] would rely on evidenced-based interventions, that is, providing the right care at the right time to the right patients, according to generally accepted best practices, and it would reduce the disparities in access to and quality of care among ethnic groups. Better tracking of chronic diseases, outbreaks and identification of bioterrorism would also be benefits (emphasis added).”
I want a hit of whatever hallucinogen this dude is smoking!
best,
Flea
graham – this is actually for your mmr/vaccine post a few posts ago, but did you see that House episode where the mom is like, “oh we (baby and mom) don’t believe in vaccines do we (followed by babbling baby talk/cooing to her infant)? they just aren’t natural . . .” and House replies, “do you believe in baby coffins?” LOL!! I almost died laughing. I want to be him. Or at least cool enough to pull off some of the stuff he says to patients. (I know, I know, it’s just a tv show)
“It’s about time doctors began to get on board.”
Single-payer, even with the cuts in paperwork and costs that the columnist points out, will be bad for the bottom line.
I understand that the government already pays for something like 45% of all healthcare costs, and that many prviate insurances already set their reimbursement rates off Medicare. I also understand the lack of transparency in what insurance companies pay. So, it is not like we have a free market system here but at least we have some competition.
Just looking at Medicare’s failure to increase reimbursements over the past 15 years, you cannot feel good about the future of physician income in this country when the government funds it all.
Criticisms of greedy physicians is sometimes warranted. But wanting to get paid when you’re some of the most important, trained professionals in the country isn’t without reason. I think it explains why the single payer system isn’t supported by more physicians.