Doctors (American College of Physicians) endorse single-payer

from the Philly Inquirer:



Doctors endorse single-payer
American College of Physicians said it backed the system because access to health care had deteriorated.
By Stacey Burling
Inquirer Staff Writer

The Philadelphia-based American College of Physicians - the nation's second-largest physician group - endorsed a single-payer health-care system yesterday.
But the organization stopped short of saying that a single-payer system like Medicare, in which the government would get and pay most bills, is the best way to achieve universal health coverage.

The group said the country also could do that through expansion of the current mix of private insurance and government coverage. Under the proposal, people would be required to get health insurance.

While some physicians have formed organizations that push for single-payer, David Dale, president of the ACP, said his was the largest general-interest doctor group to support the controversial idea.

The group said change was necessary because access to health care had deteriorated.

The largest physician group in the United States, the American Medical Association, does not support single-payer. Earlier this year, it released a proposal to expand insurance coverage, primarily through tax incentives and changes in insurance regulations.

The ACP's membership includes 124,000 internal-medicine physicians and related specialists. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20071204_Doctors_endorse_single-payer.html

Another group lacking backbone.

:shrug: