Dr Fragen in the operating room

Nationalized Healthcare and the Free Market

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Nationalized/Universal healthcare will happen. Obama ran on it and he intends to deliver. What’s more, I can see a manner in which the country will flock to it under the current free market insurance system.
First, the federal government will expand Medicaid to cover the unemployed and uninsured. Second, the Congress will pass some law that mandates employers to provide health insurance for not only full-time employees, but part-time employees too.
Oh, by the way, the federal government will also make available a _government-sponsored_ insurance plan to _compete_ with the other available HMO and PPO choices. Of course the government plan will cost you (the employer) 40-50% less than the next most expensive plan.
You (the employer) will offer your employees the _government plan_ as per the terms of the new law and they (the employees) will have the option of spending almost twice as much for a different commercial plan. I don’t really expect many employees to avail themselves of the opportunity to spend more money for little perceived increase in services.
Soon 80-90% of the country will be on the _government plan_ and physicians and hospitals will effectively have a single payor.
Welcome to nationalized/universal healthcare.

Comments

2 responses to “Nationalized Healthcare and the Free Market”

  1. Terry Avatar

    Not to sound like an Redneck idiot. BUT

    Your problem with this is? If you are worried about getting paid. you could do worse. At least you might get paid what you bill for and not what some dweeb sitting in front of a chart says,” well That procedure is about 1/2 of what you are charging. so here is what we will give you” nuff said on that.. I feel that in the greatest country in the world. Simple healthcare maters should not be for only the Few of us that can afford the $1,000.00 per month premiums that we have to pay . when average household income is less that 50k a year. you take out 12 k Just in case you break your arm. or god forbid your kid has a condition that requires you to expend your entire income (and usualy then some) to maintain a level of life that is worth living!! my bottom line.
    the current free market insurance system. is broken and it is in need of a crainial amputation! or at the minimum a disembowelment.
    Keep up the good work DOC. and may all your patients be healthy, After all isn’t that why you joined the profession of healing?

  2. Andy Avatar

    Terry, I’m merely stating that I believe universal health care, sponsored and run with typical government efficiency is a fait accomplit.

    I understand that healthcare costs are huge. I ran a small business and paid for my employees healthcare. It’s not cheap. But I believe that most people who only pay a small share of their health care policy do not understand the limitations of that policy and expect everything the system has to offer simply because they have health insurance. Don’t even get me started on the entitlement attitude of those with no coverage and the demanding nature some of them possess.

    Don’t assume that my charges are anything close to what the government is willing to pay. The dweeb is still sitting in front of the chart — it’s just that now he’s a government dweeb.

    BTW, Terry wait for the day the government starts rationing healthcare services because that’s the only way they can afford them. And no arguments about the health insurance market being broken. Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, as a trauma surgeon, not all my patients are healthy.