ICYMI: “Medicare Buy-In, Public Option Proposals Would Harm Our Health Care System”

In a new op-ed published today by the Morning Consult, the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future’s Lauren Crawford Shaver writes that a “buy-in” or “public option” Medicare for all-style proposal “does nothing to address the actual cost of providing health care — and as a result it would affect providers’ ability to continue to offer services, endangering patients’ access to doctors and care.”

While proposals such as this are being touted by some as a more moderate approach, Americans should understand the consequences.  These would drastically change health care in our country.  They are nothing less than a slippery slope toward one-size-fits-all, government-run health care.

A study released this month by the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals found that implementation of Medicare-X would result in nearly 4 million fewer Americans receiving health care coverage than if our existing health care system were simply shored up.  In fact, the study found that our nation already has the framework in place to increase access to health insurance for more than 9 million Americans through realistic solutions that improve upon our current system, such as expanding Medicaid and boosting Affordable Care Act enrollment.

Further, the AHA-FAH study found that under Medicare-X, hospitals would be hit by $774 billion in cuts, which would “compound financial stresses already faced by the nation’s hospitals, potentially impacting access to care and provider quality,” hurting vulnerable patients throughout the country.

Already, America’s hospitals are under pressure, and a significant cut in funding could exacerbate hospital closure rates and further strain the nation’s hospital network.  In fact, a separate study released by Navigant Consulting found that “Medicare-for-all” proposals could force hospitals to limit the care they provide, cause significant layoffs and “potentially force the closure of essential hospitals.”  Because the “capacity to reduce/manage cost will vary markedly from system to system and hospital to hospital,” the report finds single-payer proposals “appear to have financial effects that exceed the capacity of hospital managements to reduce their expenses.”

To read the Partnership’s full op-ed at the Morning Consult, CLICK HERE.

To learn more about the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, CLICK HERE.