Marc YachtA Vermont protest during the inauguration of Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin received little media attention. The Vermont Worker’s Center sit-in resulted in 29 protester arrests. They took issue with Shumlin shelving his campaign promise to pursue single-payer health care for Vermont. The VW Center advocates health care as a right.
Although the Affordable Care Act can claim enrolling more than 7 million Americans, that still leaves 43 million without. The continued criticism of ACA, although politically driven, is not without merit. Legitimate concerns relate to continued excessive provider costs, a fragmented array of insurers and problems the covered face finding health care providers – a clear problem in Florida. The compromised model that passed left both sides wanting. Needed was collaboration not compromise.
Shumlin shelved the one-payer universal health care effort due to projected costs and potential tax increases. That unfortunate decision does not consider the long-term savings associated with an efficient system. Democratic state legislators rallied around Shumlin, claiming the protest was ill-timed and misguided. The protest organizer had not anticipated what became a Statehouse sit-in and sing-fest. State troopers ultimately dragged the participants from the building.
The U.S. congressional House- and Senate-sponsored legislation (H.R. 676) adopting a “Medicare for All” single-payer system has languished for years. Although few in the know can deny such a system would work, the insurance industry and, sadly, state medical associations throw millions of dollars to undermine the bill which has never received a floor vote. Here are some pros and cons of single-payer according to HealthResearchFunding.org.
Pros
• People are guaranteed to receive high quality health care.
• The system does not require complex billing. Administrative costs are drastically reduced.
• Medical care becomes a non-profit enterprise. Health care costs would plummet.
• Since the system is run by government there are no private insurer premiums. Medicare exemplifies the financing of such a system.
Cons
• The bureaucracy of the government increases since there is a need to administer the system.
• Doctors under the system will become employees of the government.
• It uses a socialized system of care.
• Socialism is also evident but people cannot easily determine what the relationship of this in the system is.
The single-payer Medicare model has a 50-year successful history. The design does not foster socialism. Doctors for the most part have their independent practices. Physicians who choose to work for HMOs or government have that option. Suggesting that a single-payer system is socialistic is inaccurate. What will come about is a cost efficient system allowing universal coverage and cost-reduction in a non-profit environment.
No system is perfect. Obamacare has expanded health coverage to 7.1 million Americans. Much more needs to be accomplished so that the remaining 43 million are protected. One-payer can align our treatment costs with other nations. Unless such a model surfaces, this nation will fall short providing health care services. American wellness will continue to fall behind other nations providing universal coverage. The Vermont protesters are correct, health care is the right of every citizen.
Dr. Marc Yacht is a semi retired physician. This column courtesy of Context Florida.
