Insurance and Pharma Companies under Single Payer System?
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Anonymous
| Didn't single payer fail in VT? |
Anonymous
you're full of it. they get paid much more quickly from the government and in some cases more. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Definitely get paid more quickly (usually). I don't know any instance where they pay more, maybe some HMOs. I don't have a single contract below Medicare allowable. A lot of strings attached to Medicare reimbursement as well. Also potential for criminal prosecution for charting errors. I try to limit Medicare to 30% of my practice. I will go to cash only or retire if single payer happens |
Anonymous
Would you have agreed to single-payer if it meant Uncle Sam picked up 100% of your medical school costs? I'm willing to be 90% of kids currently in medical school would take that deal. $300K+ in student loans is not sustainable. I think this will eventually be the grand bargain one day in exchange for single-payer coverage. |
Anonymous
Yes, because it's too expensive. When asked about it the debate, Bernie basically blamed the governor. He gets very pissy about people who endorsed Hillary. Hell, Martin O'Malley has more congressional endorsements than Bernie. |
Anonymous
It couldn't be done in a state with 90% liberals and a homogeneous population of 500,000 people and 750,000 cows. How can ANYONE believe Bernie, who is so inconsequential in the Senate for 25 years could actually roll out government run health care? |
Anonymous
I'm sure in a federal universal system there would be some subsidizing going on between states. High income states would be generating more funds then they need, unless there's a cap on the tax. And healthier states would probably also be generating more funds then they need. But that's the benefit of a universal system and why it works. |
Anonymous
| No need to worry about this since there's no way in hell he can get this through Congress. |
Anonymous
All depends on if he would be successful at rallying the general public and in turn putting real pressure on Congress. |
Anonymous
+1 yup - insurance industry has too strong of a lobby. Remember Hillarycare that went up in a fireball Bill's first year in office? |
Anonymous
Well mine are paid off but even so I would say no. If I were in medical school looking at single payer I would look at other career paths. The rising cost of education in general and medical school specifically is a topic in and of itself, but yes the inflationary costs are not sustainable. In your scenario the new doctors are basically indentured servants to the govt. I would imagine at the very least the govt would want to dictate where you practice for a set number of years (the way current federal forgiveness/payback program works), and for that kind of money most likely will want to direct your specialty training as well (how military medical "scholarships" work). There is also the lost time away from family and deferring/foregoing pursuit of avocations that medical training requires that really has no dollar cost, but 80-100k per year beginning at 30 to 32 years of age won't cover it for many of the best and brightest when they are looking at options. |
Anonymous
If your fearmongering were true, there would be no doctors in uk, france, or germany. |
Anonymous
I never said *no one* would become doctors, just that many of the best candidates would be open to pursuing less strenuous professions Again, for another thread, the healthcare systems in all three of those countries have separate issues, but briefly: Training is not nearly as lengthy in terms of formal education, and residencies and fellowships not nearly as grueling. Malpractice suits are almost nonexistent in terms of the physician's liability. European physicians stick to bankers' hours except for life and limb threatening conditions. I honestly don't know how other fields such as IB, law, etc pay in Europe compared to the US, but I would suspect many people here with options would look at other jobs in the high 5 to low 6 figure range that didn't require the number of years medicine does. Hell, if I were starting out and looking at a government run system I would consider going to nursing school and then CRNA or NP school rather than medical school if I really wanted to be in the medical field. Get out quicker, less liability/responsibility, and much better hours for close to the same pay. We are already looking at a projected shortfall in physicians even without govt run healthcare; but maybe you are right, maybe all those young men and women will still flock to the profession. |
Anonymous
| No health care bill will ever pass Congress without some concessions to the insurance industry. The reason we have Medicare and Medicaid in the first place is because insurers only want to cover young healthy people with jobs and leave the rest to the government. But over time the insurers have figured out how to get pieces of Medicare and Medicaid subsidies while still cherry-picking to avoid taking the risk of taking care of the old, the chronically ill, or the poor. So we have Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, Medicaid Managed Care, and similar programs that contract with insurance companies at higher costs. Obamacare is the government overpaying insurance companies to cover the people they don't want to cover. Also, unwinding employer provided health insurance would be political heavy lifting because most companies and employees would see it as a tax increase. The tax code and public opinion heavily favor paying premiums for employer provided care than paying taxes for government provided care. |