According to BMJ, Vermont moves closer to becoming first US state to provide “socialised medicine”.Vermont is set to become the first US state to launch a single payer healthcare plan after a bill passed both houses of the state’s legislature.
The plan is expected to be signed by Governor who originally proposed the idea that would abolish most insurance plans and would instead provide healthcare to all residents through public funding - a “single payer” scheme and is fiercely opposed by many conservative politicians as “socialised medicine.”
Some doctors in Vermont are unhappy about the proposed changes. In an online poll of 600 doctors conducted by a state representative and an ObGyn doctor, 28% said that they will stop practising medicine in the state if the plan is adopted.
Comments from Twitter:
@a_singledrop (Emily Lu): Seriously?
@movinmeat: calling their bluff.
@gruntdoc (GruntDoc): States as exp labs.
@backpackerchick (Hartley): In another era, doctors ****** about Medicare and found themselves richer than ever when it was enacted! What's good for the doctor (profits) is not necessarily good for the patient!
@RN_ing (Mary v. Seattle RN): Change is difficult... to be expected, but continue to want #singlepayor.
@irfandhalla (Irfan Dhalla): Single payer turned out to be well liked by docs in Canada. Will same happen in Vermont?
What do you think? Feel free to comment below, or post on Twitter.
References:
Vermont moves closer to becoming first US state to provide “socialised medicine”. BMJ 2011; 342:d2921.
Image source: OpenClipArt.org, public domain.
If you did a little research you would find the survey was accessible to the general public and completed by many non-physicians, and ignored by the majority of physicians in Vermont. There are concerns about single-payer, and spreading distortions will not contribute to addressing them (or delay the progress in Vermont).
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