It appears so.
The public health option is the centerpiece of a progressive vision of health reform. Some consider it a “backdoor” to a single-payer system, since in theory, a publicly funded option like Medicare should have the cost advantage when compared to its private plan counterparts.
According to some models, however, some of the cost savings will also come at the expense of physician salaries. MedPage Today cites a report from the Institute for America’s Future, a progressive think tank, which concludes that “if all businesses, large and small, chose to offer the public plan to their employees, physicians would likely see a 7% cut in their reimbursements.”
If those cuts are indiscriminate across all physician specialties, it will disproportionally hurt primary care doctors, which will be unfortunate, since the success of any reform initiative hinges on the welfare of generalist physicians.
Related posts:
- Convincing doctors to accept a public health care plan option
- Should a public plan option be part of any health reform initiative?
- Is the public plan option supported by doctors?
- Why this private health insurance CEO is against a public plan
- The Mayo Clinic opposes a public plan, and the dissonance facing progressive health reformers
- 10 health reform posts you may have missed
- How to get doctors to embrace health care reform
{ 2 comments }
the problem is the large run up in drug costs and hospital costs, and the cut in those costs would need to be substantial but those lobby’s are much more powerful than the physician’s..
“…since the success of any reform initiative hinges on the welfare of generalist physicians.”
Didn’t you get the memo? Generalist physicians are being phased out, to be replaced by physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and doctor nurses.
-Steve
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