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Doctors support universal health care

April 1st, 2008
By PAUL SILVER

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This is encouraging Doctors support universal health care: survey

More than half of U.S. doctors now favor switching to a national health care plan and fewer than a third oppose the idea, according to a survey published on Monday.

The survey suggests that opinions have changed substantially since the last survey in 2002 and as the country debates serious changes to the health care system.

Now all we need are capable leaders to make this happen. And I don’t think that the main source of resistance is coming from Democrats.



This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 7:34 am and is filed under Health Care. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 16 Comments

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    Hmm. Despite their support doctors seem to be voting with their feet. The number of general medicine physicians continues to be insufficient to handle universal health care.
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    Paul, the major block to this deal is not so much doctors...it is the insurance companies.

    About a year ago I saw a report on ABC News tonight of how insurance companies in the northeast were regularly stiffing doctors and hospitals on payment. One hospital administrator produced faxes of bills sent to one insurance company and confirmations of receipts...while the insurance company claimed no bills had ever been received, so they didn't have to pay out.

    It was surreal. Like the Monty Python "Dead Parrot Sketch". The hospital administrator was stupified as he did not know what to do. Keep sending faxes, send couriers...the insurance company claims no receipt, and thus no need to pay out.

    I wonder how many doctors get screwed over.

    Health care in America is a national scandal. Paul, you are right to point your political finger too.

    I am a conservative (a Tory really, and so don't have the, what seem to me bizarre, Republican antipathy to universal health care), yet I am supporting HRC because of this issue (well, and the economy too).
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    I think that Marlowecan is right about the obstructionism of insurance companies. I also imagine that no one hate the insurance companies as much as doctors.
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    Read the report carefully. Psychiatrist are the most supportive because they are the least likely to have patients with insurance. The mental health community would love to make every diagnosis reimbursible from the government.

    If you also read the report, it does not imply that private insurance would go away. The physicians would still be covered with high quality private insurance while the masses would be left with government insurance.

    If you want an obscure reflection on healthcare, look at this months Washingtonian Magazine. Many of the best physicians do not take insurance at all. It is up to the patient to deal directly with their insurance companies. I would asusme that they would increase in a single payer world.
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    Many doctors go to fields where they make a quick/easy buck. ER physicians and neurosurgeons are in short supply because optometrists doing lasik surgery on Medicare patients is easier and more lucrative(market forces).
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    "Psychiatrist are the most supportive because they are the least likely to have patients with insurance. The mental health community would love to make every diagnosis reimbursible from the government."

    Depends upon one's view of the mental health field. My interpretation of that would be that the mental health community is interested in helping as many people with mental health issues as possible.
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    SD, I have no problem with those rich enough or picky enough seeking out pricey doctors who opt out of the universal system. I have many physician friends. One won't deal with insurance companies as you suggest. It's because he despises them and chooses not to pay his staff to fight with them. He doesn't refuse Medicare because it's easy and quick to pay.

    My own physician is in every single preferred network, because his business model is to make it easy to bring in new patients to his rapidly expanding practice, and build the practice by bringing more doctors and nurses to handle the load. He has two people on staff who do nothing but deal with the dozens of insurance companies and their individual rules, forms and 'patient care' specialists (i.e. 'payment prevention and delay' staff). What a waste.

    There is one huge reason we will eventually have "government insurance". It's the 35% overhead and profit of insurance companies. We can't afford it as a nation and no other modern advanced nation submits to it. Cutting that cost by 30% to the "government insurance" overhead cost of 5% allows us to cover everyone, pay for everything, relieve the burden on emergency rooms and finally, finally, take care of the health needs of the entire population of the richest country on earth.
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    GreenDreams wrote:

    "There is one huge reason we will eventually have "government insurance". It's the 35% overhead and profit of insurance companies. We can't afford it as a nation and no other modern advanced nation submits to it. Cutting that cost by 30% to the "government insurance" overhead cost of 5% allows us to cover everyone, pay for everything, relieve the burden on emergency rooms and finally, finally, take care of the health needs of the entire population of the richest country on earth."

    WELL SAID!

    SD, it's an embarrassing shame that every citizen of the United States doesn't have access to at least a basic basket of healthcare services. Not only am I okay with supplemental insurance for those who can afford it, I see it as a good thing. You protect the well-being of the weakest among us while offering those can afford it greater choice. Will some of the better doctors opt out of the system and only see private patients? Yes. But that's already the case with many specialists who are prominent enough to only accept direct pay and let their patients deal with getting reimbursement after the fact. And supply and demand will dictate that there are just so many physicians who will be able to afford to be private insurance only, thus ensuring there will be plenty of good physicians to go around for the plebes.
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    Idiosyncrat ,

    Supply and Demand curves have little to do with medicine since all physicians are paid the same amount for the same procedure. The best in any field will go the non-insurance rout where they can charge much more than the CMS reimbursement. The poor will be stuck in the worst hospitals with the least skilled practitioners (See the inner city public schools for the model to apply).

    The question is whether, like the public schools, the federal government will let the middle class in the suburbs fight for better healthcare or will try to keep everyone on the level of the worst provider.

    Greendream, physicians who can turn down medicare depends upon the practice. CMS has one of the lowest reimbursement rates today. If PET/CT centers depended upon the reimbursement of CMS for everyone they would all be out of business.

    A single payer system means that GS-12's in DC will be determining what your cancer treatment will be because they will be setting the reimbursement rates and do not care if they cover costs or not.
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    Cutting out the insurance companies entirely is a pipedreadm, Grrem Dreams.
    There are political realities to face, and compromises will need to be made in order to get anything passed.

    That's why I think Hillary has the best plan. She starts out from a strong position, realizing full well that she couldn't get her plan in place in its entirety. I agrree with her when she said that any weaker proposal will be nibbled to death by the opposition.

    It's a tragic reality that our government moves by fighting ideological and political
    battles instead of pagmatic ones.. It's what killed the immigration bill, and I predict the fight over health insurance will be just as bloody. I just hope it odesn't end up the same way.
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