Single-payer health care is still a controversial idea in the U.S., but a majority of physicians are moving to support it, a new survey finds.
Fifty-six percent of doctors registered either strong support or were somewhat supportive of a single-payer health system, according to the survey by Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruitment firm. In its 2008 survey, opinions ran the opposite way — 58 percent opposed single-payer. What’s changed?
Red tape, doctors tell Merritt Hawkins. Phillip Miller, the firm’s vice president of communications, said that in the thousands of conversations its employees have with doctors each year, physicians often say they are tired of dealing with billing and paperwork, which takes time away from patients.
As a surgeon who has worked in both systems I can state unequivocally there is no perfect system. However I can tell you that single payer system is not a panacea for health care. One of the reasons I left Canada is the surgical waiting times, capped income and government bureaucrats running a system into the ground. As I have family remaining in Canada and as they age they are now coming to the conclusion that if you cannot access a doctor it doesn’t matter that whether you have insurance or not.
“…very few schools provide predatory training on things such as …” What does that mean??
Anyway, it is time to totally reorganize our health care system including who pays for medical school. Every aspiring doctor should have the option of a debt-free medical education in exchange for public service in their discipline.
Single payer health care is the only smart option; may we make it so in my lifetime!
“very few schools provide predatory training on things such as …” What does that mean??
Anyway, it is time to totally reorganize our health care system including who pays for medical school. Every aspiring doctor should have the option of a debt-free medical education in exchange for public service in their discipline.
Single payer health care is the only smart option; may we make it so in my lifetime!
In the long term, the effect of this will be fewer people going into medicine as insurance payments will inevitably be reduced. They need to first seriously look at the cost of medical school before tackling the patients system. Many young doctors come out of school shackled with 150-200k of debt and the income they earn only supports living paycheck to paycheck…barely able to save for their future. The glamour of being a physician is gone in this country. There are already a high rate of private practice physicians ditching insurance altogether because of the pains of trying to chase insurances to collect. Medical students of course don’t understand what the big deal is because they haven’t worked in the real world…very few schools provide predatory training on things such as billing. Go ahead and ask a medical student what a CPT code or work rvu is and be prepared for a blank stare.
Does anyone actually know what predatory means? In my view as a Canadian doc though US citizen it means insurance companies. Go to single payer and get a life.