Single-payer
Single-payer is a way of achieving universal health care. It is
a health insurance system in which the government pays all medical
bills, financed by taxes, which replace premiums. Health care
providers remain private.
Am I crazy, a physician embracing legislative efforts to create
a single-payer health care system in Oregon? You be the judge.
It would create thousands of jobs. It would provide health care
to people whether they work full time, part time or are retired,
disabled, sick or unemployed. It would stimulate Oregon business.
It would reduce our state deficit. And it would provide comprehensive
care to every Oregonian without spending more than we do now.
Where would the money come from? Oregon businesses and families
already spend this money. But Oregon wastes $4 billion annually
in private insurance administration. That's premium money that
never goes toward health care. Half is the insurance company overhead.
The rest is what hospitals and providers like me waste collecting
payments from insurance companies. Princeton economics professor
Uwe Reinhardt, speaking recently before the Senate Finance Committee,
said of Duke University's 900-bed hospital: "We have 900
billing clerks at Duke. I'm not sure we have a nurse per bed,
but we have a billing clerk per bed. It's obscene."
For physicians, it's no easier. A Chicago doctor faces as many
as 17,000 different sets of benefits for her patients. Your physician
in Oregon might deal with only 300. But that's still a lot of
paperwork that doesn't provide health care.
Single payer would eliminate these administrative losses. Diverting
$4 billion to real health care is more than enough to enable comprehensive,
no-deductible, no-co-pay, all-medications-included health care
to every Oregonian, young and old.
So why doesn't everybody embrace single-payer financing? It's
a stark answer: The money is re-labeled as "taxes."
And unfortunately many voters who unknowingly pay thousands of
dollars in premiums and out-of-pocket payments refuse to pay a
penny of it as a tax, even when this tax would buy them more health
care at less cost and protect their families from medical bankruptcy.
Other objections are mere distractions. Single payer will destroy
jobs? No evidence. Single-payer studies in 14 other states suggest
35,000 new jobs in Oregon. That's 12,000 more than the entire
Oregon insurance industry. And because these new jobs are highly
paid medical personnel, they generate $500 million in new tax
revenues.
Will businesses flee Oregon? Single payer would eliminate labor
disputes over health care benefits. It would halve the cost of
human resource departments (no health benefit management). Entrepreneurs
would be free to create new businesses without fear of losing
health care. Business would flourish.
Worried about our state deficit? Single payer would reduce government
costs to provide comprehensive benefits to state employees. Couple
this with increased tax revenue and the budget deficit would go
down.
A new single-payer health care bill -- House Bill 3510 and Senate
Billl 888 -- would be a win for all Oregon. Families finally would
get the health care they need. Workers would enjoy thousands of
new jobs. Employer costs would go down. And so would our state
government's deficit.
Single-payer health care: It's not crazy. It's good for Oregon,
good for you and good for your legislators. Tell them now.
Samuel Metz is a Portland physician.
Why We Need Government-Run Universal
Socialized Health Insurance
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Health Care for ALL – Oregon (HCAO) is working for secure,
affordable health care for each and every Oregonian. We believe
the best way to do this is through a universal, single-payer health
care system for every resident of the state (and nation). With
everyone in the same insurance pool, we can lower costs while
providing more comprehensive services than what most residents
receive now.
