Physicians Increasingly Support a Single-Payer National Health Insurance System

(This is from February but still timely I think)

Of 3300 physicians sent the survey, 1675 (50.8%) responded; 49% prefer either tax incentives or penalties to promote the purchase of health insurance; 42% prefer a government-run, taxpayer-financed single-payer national health insurance program, which increased from 26% in a study 5 years previously; and only 9% prefer the current, employer-based financing system.

Regarding access to healthcare, 89% of physicians surveyed believe that all Americans should receive needed medical care regardless of ability to pay; 33% believe that the uninsured currently have access to needed care; and 19.3% believe that even the insured lack access to needed care. Opinions regarding access were independently associated with support for single-payer national health insurance.

"Surveys show that a majority of Americans support a single-payer system. It's not surprising that increasing numbers of doctors do,” said coauthor David Bor, MD, also from Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance. “Single payer is the only proposal that can cover all Americans, for all needed care, without driving up healthcare costs. National health insurance would eliminate the massive administrative costs and hassles imposed by our current multiplicity of private insurers.”
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588331

Have to hurry before the idea of single payer gets a hold of our political debate.

are the "tics" listening?

Definitely NOT the AMA :eyes:

They aren't going to support the public option, let alone single payer. All these single payer doctors need to do something about their association.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/us/politics/11health.html?hp