Posted by
H. Hicks on Friday, November 28, 2008 2:13:58 PM
Having worked with Medicare for over a decade--I am inspired by the prospects of a single payer system from the perspective of the medical practice. Once you learn to navigate the pitfalls of the system--medicare provides timely and relatively rational payment to medical practices for services in a near seamless fashion.
The benefits of a single payer system--are clear to a physicians practice--and would eliminate thousands of hours of paperwork and haggling with the unlimited number state insurance plans/carrirers under a multitude of corporate names and fee schedules--each with it's own processes.
In this vien--it would be a major improvement to healthcare operations to narrow the list of payors, plans, and carriers--to the smallest number, because it would improve efficiency of claims filing and reimbursement--and directly reduce operational healthcare costs.