Americans should be able to go to the doctor, wherever they are, without worry about the cost. That’s the goal of Medicare for all. Ideally, everyone in this country should want that.
But, Medicare for all forces people to give up their private insurance, even if they don’t want to. It assumes that people will understand its merits over the health insurance they have today. It also assumes that there are enough physicians to treat everyone.
One key reason that healthcare is unaffordable to most Americans is that health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, doctors and hospitals, and insurance companies, charge too much. Put differently, it’s the prices, stupid. But, as Eric Levitz writes for MSN, reducing physician rates when the US faces physician shortages is a hard sell.
Physicians in the US have incomes twice as high as in Canada, and four times higher than in Sweden. Some say, we need more doctors to reduce their incomes and make it easier for everyone in the US to have access to care. At the moment, we have about 2.7 physicians for every 1,000 Americans, whereas other wealthy countries have about 3.9. But, will having more physicians lead physicians to charge less for their services and to accept Medicare?
For sure, our government needs to help more people pursue careers as physicians. It is frightfully expensive and hard to become a physician in the US. And, Congress could fix that.
In fact, Congress froze residency funding back when it thought there would be too many physicians. It could undo that freeze. And states could simplify the process for foreign physicians to practice in their states. Tennessee has done just that.
Today, we spend about twice as much as people in other wealthy countries for about the same amount or less case. We see physicians less often, use the hospital less often and wait longer for care. Here, in the US, we will spend about $90,000 for heart bypass surgery. Australians spend about $18,000.
We also waste about $500 billion on administration thanks to the corporate health insurers that are supposed to pay for our healthcare. They create so many obstacles to care that it becomes a costly administrative nightmare for everyone involved.
For the most part, our government’s regulated rates for Medicare are reasonable and comparable to what other countries pay. It’s the private insurance market that pays exorbitant rates. So, how best to get those rates down?
A slow limitation on provider rates might be effective. Some states have begun that process. In Maryland, all hospitals receive the same rates; the hospitals are not in charge of those rates. And, their budgets are also set. In Rhode Island, hospital rates can only grow at the rate of inflation.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- United Health now controls 1 in 10 physicians
- Health insurance spending projected to rise 9 percent in 2027, while almost half of working Americans struggle to pay for health care
- Questions for your primary care doctor if you have Medicare
- Every American needs a primary care doctor
- Six reasons you need a primary care doctor in this age of specialization
