How Physicians Feel About Single-Payer Healthcare

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The fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) hangs in the balance. Repeated attempts at a replacement, such as the American Healthcare Care Act of 2017 (ACHA), have failed. Hospitals and physicians are still unsure what to expect from insurance companies and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) come January 2018, which is fast-approaching.

Considering the future of the United States’ healthcare system is yet to be determined, it comes as no surprise that a concept once foreign to the US-healthcare industry continuously re-emerges: single-payer healthcare.

I decided to dive into the latest industry news and data to learn how physicians really feel about single-payer healthcare. As you may have guessed, my findings landed on both sides of the spectrum. Keep reading to learn what the latest surveys reveal about physicians’ attitudes towards single-payer.

Similar Surveys Yield Drastically Different Results

Do physicians back single-payer? Yes and no. Depends on the source.

Several news articles circulating in the last three weeks suggest that physicians are in favor of single-payer based on the results of a Merritt Hawkins survey of 1,033 physicians. Of those:

• Forty-two percent strongly supported this type of healthcare
• Fourteen percent somewhat supported single-payer
• Thirty-three percent were strongly opposed

Interestingly, just as many news stories during these last few weeks suggest that physicians overwhelmingly oppose a single-payer healthcare system. Where does this information come from? An electronic survey conducted by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) uncovered a very different opinion from physicians, other medical professionals, and laypeople. Here is the breakdown of their results:

• Of 737 physicians, 669 physicians (91 percent) were not in favor of single-payer
• Of 101 other medical professionals, 97 (96 percent) were opposed to single-payer
• Of 370 non-medical people, 357 (96 percent) answered that they were not in favor of single-payer

Why Physicians Support or Oppose a Single-Payer Healthcare System

Respondents from the AAPS survey checked the reasons why they were opposed to a single-payer healthcare system. This survey also included reasons given as to why the respondents thought others favor single-payer. Results are listed below, along with the reasons I found from industry leaders on  why they believe some physicians support single-payer.

Some Reasons Physicians Support Single-Payer According to Industry Leaders:

• The need for more clarity and stability - they want to minimize distractions so they can focus on patients
• Tired of being unable to treat patients as they see fit due to insurance/monetary constraints
• Fed up with administrative and clerical work that’s resulted from the implementation of the ACA
• Industry burnout created by mounting constraints of time and workload that lead to diminished job satisfaction under the current system

AAPS Survey - Objections to Single-Payer (many respondents selected multiple reasons):

• Increased rationing (87 percent)
• Unaffordable (75 percent)
• Harm to patient privacy (66 percent)
• Unconstitutional (58 percent)
• Other (28 percent)

AAPS Survey -  Why Respondents Believe Others Favor Single-Payer (many respondents selected multiple reasons):

• Biased favorable coverage of socialized medicine in Europe and Canada (84 percent)
• Indoctrination of young people in cultural Marxism (68 percent)
• Lack of education in economics (68 percent)
• Incorrect portrayal of our dysfunctional third-party system as "free market" (66 percent)
• Other (14 percent)

Weighing Up the Results from Both Surveys

It’s important to know that the Merritt Hawkins survey saw a significant incline in support of single-payer since its 2008 survey. However, they mention that there is an overall feeling of resignation among respondents and not great enthusiasm among supporters. In contrast, the AAPS survey displays strong opposition based on principles from the majority of professionals and other people that subscribe to their email publications.

Two surveys. Different results. What can we conclude from these findings? Views towards single-payer are changing, and for better or worse, this concept will not being going away anytime soon.

So how do physicians really feel about single-payer?

The verdict is still out. We want to hear from you! Please leave in the comments below how you feel about a single-payer healthcare system in the United States.