I believe every person deserves the best possible medical care. As medical care in the U.S. has gradually declined in the last several years, I am not sure Medicare for All is the answer. The powerful and greedy drug companies, the health insurance industry, and far too many greedy doctors will fight any comprehensive plan. The billionaires who surround Trump and his many supporters will also fight. Why should they worry about others when they can afford the very best health care?
Another problem I see is that Medicare for All will mostly function the same as the worst HMOs. A patient will have to get permission to see a specialist, and to have any test done. Many of these decisions will be made by nurses or non-medical personnel. Nurse practitioners will have an even more important role, as can be seen in the Kaiser health system. A good nurse is worth his or her weight in gold, but physicians should be the ones to oversee a patient's care.
In a recent article in the New York Times by Paul Krugman, he discusses different plans found in other nations. One is Medicare for America. In this plan patients could keep their own health insurance if they like it, but "they or they employers would also have the option of buying into an enhanced version of Medicare, with substantial subsidies for lower and middle-income families." The U.S. comes last in any survey about healthcare in countries
We need to expand the coverage of the Affordable Healthcare Act and have good regulation of drug and health insurance companies. I don't see any of this as happening. I am just very glad I practiced pediatrics in the glory days of medicine. It was not about making a lot of money but enjoying our patients, making house calls, meeting patients in the ER and caring for our patients in the hospital. The Netherlands and France are still rated as having the best healthcare. We certainly don't.
Comments