Single-Payer FAQ | Physicians for a National Health Program April 22, 2009 by Egberto Willies Is national health insurance ‘socialized medicine’? Won’t this result in rationing like in Canada? Who will run the health care system? What about medical research? Won’t this just be another bureaucracy? How will we keep costs down if everyone has access to comprehensive health care? How will we keep doctors from doing too many procedures? What will happen to physician incomes? How will we keep drug prices under control? Why shouldn’t we let people buy better health care if they can afford it? What will be covered? What about alternative care, will it be covered? Can a business keep private insurance if they choose? What will happen to all of the people who work for insurance companies? How will we contain costs with the population aging? What about ERISA? Doesn’t it stand in the way of states implementing universal health care plans? How will the Health Planning Board operate? Since we could finance a fairly good system, like the Norwegian, Danish or Swedish system, with the public money we are already spending (60% of health costs), why do we need to raise the additional 40% (from employers and individuals)? How much of the health care dollar is publicly financed? Why not MSAs/HSAs? Why not use tax subsidies to help the uninsured buy health insurance? What is PNHP’s response to libertarian proposals for health savings accounts and deregulated insurance plans? Won’t competition be impeded by a universal health care system? Why not make people who are higher risk pay higher premiums? Won’t this raise my taxes? Isn’t a payroll tax unfair to small businesses? Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been in the news lately for poor care and treatment of returning soldiers from Iraq. Won’t national health insurance have similar problems? What about incremental reform of the health system? What happens to investor-owned hospitals under national health insurance (NHI)? What proportion of health spending is for undocumented immigrants? The insurance industry says that PNHP’s figures on administrative costs are outdated. Is this true? How much could the states save on administrative waste by adopting a statewide single-payer program? What will happen to malpractice costs under national health insurance? Should PNHP support a public Medicare-like option in a market of private plans? Would a “public plan option” at least be a step in the right direction? Universal healthcare is okay for a small country or organization like Switzerland, Canada, or the Veterans Administration, but it wouldn’t work when scaled up to meet the needs of a large country like the US. Responses to recent attacks on single payer health reform: Ideology Masquerading as Scholarship When Canada adopted single payer, did she allow labor unions to opt-out and “keep what they have.” What does PNHP have to say about the primary care workforce shortage? What is a Voucher Plan? What’s Wrong With It? Single-Payer FAQ | Physicians for a National Health Program
