California's universal health plan proposal

Physicians aren’t going to be happy with the 2 percent fee/tax physicians are going to have to pay. KipEquire with more:

Apparently Schwarzenegger is borrowing a page from the Michael Bloomberg book and hoping that living in California is so irresistible (i.e., that demand is so inelastic) that physicians, nurses and other health care professionals won’t simply pack up and leave the state, no matter how impossible the health care socialists make it to function there. Recent evidence suggests otherwise.
It is true that Schwarzenegger’s proposal would increase reimbursement rates under California’s existing plan, MediCal. But that can never offset the lunacy of the underlying concept: tax the people providing what you claim to want more of.

Comments

Okulus
The Governator is just trying to beat his opponents to the state house with their proposals. The idea that you are going to tax doctors and hospitals so that the tax revenues, less the skim to the state bureaucrats, is going to somehow “insure” the uninsured is just laughable. All it proposes is income shifting, from hospitals and practices that don’t take inadequate insurance payments of the MediCal type to those that do. And the reward is more underpaying work. So the doctors who don’t take MediCal still won’t take MediCal, and they will charge higher fees and balance bill more to offset the tax. Ironically, the one group that may suffer most from this is the Medicare beneficiaries, who may find fewer doctors willing to accept assignment.
Anonymous
Why would there be fewer doctors taking Medicare patients if those reimbursements are increased? Did I miss something?
Anonymous
Anon 345
I think you would have fewer doctors in general in the fine state of California. Why practice medicine there when you’re taxed for being a doctor? You can go to some other state and not be taxes and pay far less for a home.
Anonymous
anon 345,
they are talking about medical, not medicare. Medical payment is such a joke. A 100% increase of zero is still zero. Medicare is reaching that point as well.
Anonymous
Anon 4:27, I thought California was Mecca for physicians because of its draconian malpractice caps. If you’re not going to all flee to California, where are you going to go?
Also, if all physicians do is bitch about the current system, and then bitch about how all alternatives are horrible, what exactly do you want the public to do? You offer no alternatives. Just bitches.
Anonymous
The medical profession is virtually price controlled by the government (Feds and CA) and insurance companies. Here is a surprise for non-physicians – I can make almost the exact same income in any neighboring state (~ $150,000 for an internist – not $800,000 like you may think) so why should I stay in California? Unless I have a spouse with a real job I’d be a fool to stay. So the out migration will continue. If you don’t believe me, check out Illinois where high costs (malpractice, not State taxes) have led to a major shortage of OB/GYNs and neurosurgeons to name two specialties. For me I’m headed to Arizona where the reimbursement is about the same and the cost of living much lower. Remember these shifts occur over time so what looks like a minor trend now will be a real problem in 10 years when the physicians who are stuck in CA retire and are not replaced by younger ones. Sounds far fetched? Check out some of the medical student blogs and you will discover that students educated outside of California don’t even consider it a possibility for residency training. Without them you will be in real trouble in a few years.
Call me tired of California and happy to be leaving!!! BTW I’m a Stanford MD, PhD who was in the top 10% of his class – that’s why I can leave!!!
Anonymous
11:49,
How about this for an alternative: That is for people to actually pay for healthcare and for physician services. Advanced technology and medicines cost a lot of money. Consultation with someone who has an advanced degree plus 3-7 years of indentured servitude (residency) should also be worth something. Medi-cal doesn’t pay it. The illegal aliens in the ER’s and hospitals don’t pay it. Insurers shirk it every way they can. Return medicine to the free market and physicians will return to providing charity care in larger amounts when the risk of BS lawsuits for providing charity care is reduced.
All California is looking for is another tax burden on the physicians (AND THE REST OF THE MIDDLE CLASS) to pay for it. Not everyone will be able to get first rate health care just like everyone does not drive a late model Lexus or have a 10 million dollar home in Malibu and eat 200$ dollar meals every night.
The Independent Urologist
The Governor has shown his political saavy. He has endorsed a popular idea which has again put him in the national spotlight. If the plan passes, he wins. If it fails, he still wins, because he can blame the greedy doctors for its failure.
BTW, as a supporter of universal health care, I find his plan rediculous. Everybody stands to benefit from universal coverage, so everybody should pay for it, not just the providers. I am happy to pay my fair share for universal coverage, but not more than that,and MUCH more, as the Governor has proposed. It was clear to me that his inclusion of the “provider tax” is his political “out.” A saavy politician. Bravo!
Gasman
So with his plan nothing will change, except government will get it’s fist into the flow of money.
Presently the uninsured are treated by hospitals with the care subsidized by the paying customers. With the governors new tax on hospitals, the paying customers will still subsidize the care of the uninsured, but instead of it happening on the hospital’s books, the state will grab the money for the political favors and power that goes with the act of redistributing the same funds.
Just a bait and switch; the money is comming out of the same pockets as before, only the govenator has pulled the old magicians sleight of hand to make you think there’s a new source of cash.
Anonymous
“How about this for an alternative: That is for people to actually pay for healthcare and for physician services. Advanced technology and medicines cost a lot of money. Consultation with someone who has an advanced degree plus 3-7 years of indentured servitude (residency) should also be worth something. Medi-cal doesn’t pay it. “
You want to cut out the middleman, then by all means advocate for it. I don’t think your brethren will follow you.

California’s universal health plan proposal

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