Poll Finds Most Doctors Support Public Option
by Joseph Shapiro, NPR — September 14, 2009
When polled, “nearly 3/4 of physicians supported some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options,”
[…]
Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, conducted a random survey, by mail and by phone, of 2,130 doctors. They surveyed them from June right up to early September.Most doctors – 63 percent – say they favor giving patients a choice that would include both public and private insurance.
[…]
another 10 percent of doctors say they favor a public option only; they’d like to see a single-payer health care system. Together, the two groups add up to 73 percent.
http://www.npr.org/templates/s…
Hmmm? I wonder if Doctors, know anything about our Broken Insurance System?
Ya think!?
And this was no fly-by-night Poll — no rather it was a very credible Poll, from a very credible Professional Journal:
The New England Journal of Medicine
Doctors on Coverage – Physicians’ Views on a New Public Insurance Option and Medicare Expansion
Salomeh Keyhani, M.D., M.P.H., and Alex Federman, M.D., M.P.H.
September 14th, 2009
In the past few months, a key point of contention in the health care reform debate has been whether a public health insurance option should be included in the final legislation. Although polls have shown that 52 to 69% of Americans support such an option,1 the views of physicians are unclear. Physicians are critical stakeholders in health care reform and have been influential in shaping health policy throughout the history of organized medicine in the United States.2
[…]
On one of the most critical elements – expansion of coverage – our study of a national sample of physicians showed that a clear majority support a combined public-private approach to expanding health insurance.We found that physicians’ support for including a public option in the reform package largely mirrors the support revealed in national public polls conducted throughout the spring and summer of this year.1
A similar proportion of physicians also supported the expansion of Medicare to help cover the near-elderly population.
Support of public and private options was consistent across a wide range of physicians, including those from the traditionally conservative southern regions of the United States, those with a financial stake in their practice, and members of the AMA – despite that organization’s history of opposition to reform efforts.2
http://healthcarereform.nejm.o…
But Doesn’t Medicare often get a bad rap from Doctors?
Well apparently NOT as BAD, as Private Insurers DO!
As A Public Option, Doctors Don’t Mind Medicare
By Scott Hensley, NPR — September 14th, 2009
What sort of public option do they like? Well, for the near-elderly–folks between 55 and 64 years old–some 58.3 of the respondents support an expansion of Medicare, an idea contemplated by the Senate Finance Committee.
[…]
Medicare expansion seems a curious choice for a thumbs-up, given doctors’ common refrain the insurance program for the elderly and disabled is too stingy.But as NPR’s Julie Rovner points out on Monday’s All Things Considered, the data may be a reflection of doctors’ greater dissatisfaction with the non-governmental alternative:
They’re hassled by private insurance even more, and what appears to be an increasing number say they’d rather deal with one government bad guy than dozens of private insurance bad guys. In other words, low, but reliable pay is better than no pay at all.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/healt…
Doctors would rather deal with getting payments from the Government, than from the Private Insurers!
And what DO the People want, with regard to this Public Option, which would Pay their Doctors?
SurveyUSA conducted a Poll in Mid-August — prior to Obama’s well-received Speech in September — and they found that across the spectrum of Demographics Groups, a majority of Americans thought it was Extremely Important to have a Choice of a Public Option!
Here is the Question which was asked, in a Survey of 1200 Americans, from all around the Country:
In any health care proposal, how important do you feel it is to give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance — extremely important, quite important, not that important, or not at all important?
All Groups
Republicans
Democrats
Independents
Conservatives
Moderates
Liberals
College
No College
Age 18-34
Age 35-49
Age 50-64
Age 65+
Region Northeast
Region Midwest
Region South
Region West
WOW! across ALL Groups the Majority of Americans favor HAVING THE CHOICE — other than just the Private Insurers.
Americans Want a Public Option, by a wide margin, in all demographic groups!
How come the Senate Finance Committee, and their crucial “Gang of Six” is denying US that CHOICE?
They Work for US, so why are they Ignoring Us?
Exactly who is that “Gang of Six” representing anyways — It certainly ISN’T the Majority of Doctors, OR the Majority of the American People!
Maybe they are representing the “The University of I don’t Remember”? (as Glenn Beck would call it.)
Oh wait a second, HERE are their Constituents, I just found them:
The LOBBYISTS!
The Special Interests!
The Insurance Industry.
aka. Their Meal-Tickets!
The Democrats – Finance Committee
The Republicans – Finance Committee
Perhaps the Senate Finance Committee should listen to the Nation’s People, for a change?
Perhaps the Finance Committee should listen to the Nation’s Doctors?
OR Perhaps the Finance Committee should stop into their neighborhood Emergency Room, and then after watching that for a few hours, ask themselves —
What the Hell is Wrong with the Nation’s Health Insurance System?
And IF they can’t answer that Question, after a long look in the mirror —
Perhaps they should just GO HOME — and go to work for those Lobbies that they Love so much!
Senators it’s time to Stop the Charade, and DO WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT!
1 comments
Author
Tip-a-canoe
and some Senators, too!