How much would docs, hospitals be paid under single-payer?
With liberal groups and voters increasingly favoring a single-payer healthcare system in the U.S., one major component of the policies remains unanswered: How much will healthcare providers be paid?
Vox’s Sarah Kliff writes that high pay for physicians and hospitals is one of the reasons the U.S. healthcare system is so expensive for consumers. Implementing single-payer won’t be cheap either, as evidenced by the $400 billion annual price tag attached to a California proposal, but the tax hikes may be more palatable if reimbursement rates are lower.
But what may be easier to stomach for the public would likely be seen as outrageous to the healthcare industry, from physicians who have gone into significant student loan debt with the promise of a lucrative career to hospital systems which are often a region’s largest employer. Providers actually appeared more open to the change in a recent survey, while payers and especially benefits managers at large employers were more strongly opposed.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.