Why Single-Payer Health Care Can't Wait

By Mike Ferner, After Downing Street. Posted January 12, 2009.

Referring to past proposals that maintained the central role of insurance companies, Dr. Young pointed to Hillary Clinton’s plan early in her husband’s first term and charged, “The only thing worse than the crushing defeat it got would have been if it was enacted.”

“You know, we hear so much about the wonders of the free market -- that invisible hand with the extended finger…” Young mused, and then took the next question.

Health care costs a total of $2.5 trillion dollars in the U.S., or 1/6 of the country’s entire Gross Domestic Product, Dr. Young said. He briefly described two of the reasons for the high cost: overspecialization and high administrative overhead.

Regarding the rate of doctors going into specialty practices, Dr. Young said the ratio of primary care doctors to specialists is recommended to be about 70-30. “That might be considered just a little high by some, but it should be at least 60-40. In the U.S. right now it’s 50-50 and the percentage of general practitioners is still dropping.”

He used his own Hyde Park office as a good example of high administrative costs, which nationally account for nearly a third of all health care outlays. “We have five doctors and the equivalent of 14 full time employees. Five of those employees do nothing but shuffle paper,” he added ruefully.

Nick Skala, a law school student and intern with Healthcare Illinois who accompanied Dr. Young to the presentation told the 50 attendees that, “People sometimes ask me ‘Can’t we have serious health care reform without taking on the private insurance companies? Obama says his plan will compete with private insurers.’ The thing is, it’s not just insurance companies that people will be competing with, but drug companies, right-wing think tanks, and a massive, ongoing public relations campaign.”

One way to judge the level of dissatisfaction with the current private, for profit system, Skala said, is that 12 to 14 states now have proposed either legislation or citizen initiatives to get a single payer program. “The California legislature twice voted in favor of a single payer plan, only to have it vetoed both times by Governor Schwarzenegger.”

Asked about Obama’s cabinet nominees, Dr. Young said, “One or two of them have souls, but most of them don’t.” He added that one of his partners recently told him what one of his patients said about the President-elect, “So far all he’s given us is hope.”

Camp Hope continues in Drexel Park until January 18.

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