Opponents of the current proposals in Congress for reforming healthcare have asserted that nearly all physicians are in opposition to these measures. I’ve even read claims that physicians will leave practice in droves if any of these bills pass, leaving America short of doctors. The highly respected Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently surveyed physicians to see how we actually felt about reform. You can read the summary of their findings here. The bottom line — a large majority of physicians favor reform.
The survey found that 63% of physicians supported a public option — a system in which there was a government-funded alternative to private insurance. More radical than that, 10% supported a straight-up single payer system, such as Canada has. In sum, this is three-quarters of America’s doctors. In addition, a majority (58%) supported lowering Medicare eligibility to include 55-year-olds.
The survey does not address reasons doctors think this way. I think a majority of them, like me, realize our current non-system is unsustainable financially. I also think it is immoral socially, but I may be in the minority on that one.
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