More and more doctors are dropping Medicaid; more and more patients are unable to continue to see their doctors. The cuts come as states anticipate losing federal aid and try to close budget gaps, reports The New York Times. These kind of low-reimbursement rates are what many fear with a single-payer system. And, to some extent, critics are right that the government would regulate rates. But, of course, it's entirely different to have an insurance system that only provides for the neediest and a system that collects premium contributions from and pays for everyone.
More important is what happens to these patients, who the Times says struggle to find doctors and so delay care until they need to go to an emergency room. On a less dramatic scale, these kinds of problems are going to keep happening to more and more people who have stingier plans from their employers and have to pay more for every type of care. If a patient has to pay $800 or more toward an elective surgery that could prevent problems down the road, there's a good chance they'll wait until that bigger -- and more expensive problem -- needs to be dealt with. People are really bad at managing their own risk. That's why insurance exists in the first place.
In the meantime, many people don't have insurance they can use practically. And even if health reform passes this week, it's unlikely to help those people for a very long time.
-- Monica Potts
