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• Monday, March 31, 2008 03:42 PM

  Single payer and what to do if the government plan won't cover stuff

  Under most proposals for single payer in this country the only thing the government would be taking over is the coverage. Nobody (at least nobody I have seen) is clamoring for them to employ all the doctors as well. So, there are a few options:

  1. Sue - although this depends on how the government decides to deal with tort reform for the medical and pharmeceutical industries if they ever go this route. Note that in Europe, they get things like drugs approved faster than we do, but if there are safety/health impacts from the drugs, there is very little payout if you sue. But, I don't know about suing for additional procedures.

  2. Pay for it yourself, if you have the money, because most doctors, at least those that are still in private practice, will be able to accept cash, or credit cards. Still. So, I suspect that the great fear of many of the well-off in this country, that their access to health care will be diminished under any kind of health care reform, isn't going to come true, at least as long as the doctors don't work for the government. I'm not saying that anyone here has this fear, just that I believe it is out there.

  However, for all the fears about the government refusing to pay, I've seen more Canadians shocked at my private health insurance refusing to cover what the policy says it will cover, when the doctor says it's necessary, than any who told me that it's been a problem for them. Because the insurance company simply says it isn't necessary, no matter what the doctor says. I'm sure there would still be some of this with single-payer, but less, if the Canadian experience is any example.

  —SueNJ97 Read SueNJ97's other letters
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