Quote:
Originally Posted by akrogers
MonkeyMama, your post was really insightful, I hadn't even thought about the issue in terms of planned medical visits.
I do have a question that maybe someone can address and help me to understand a bit better. I have been reading in various places that there are less people who are seeking to become full-fledged MDs with the upcoming possible shift toward socialization (as if dealing with managed care isn't nightmare enough). Would it be fair to believe that if we do go to socialized healthcare, then there will be a continuing trend towards less people going into the medical profession to become MDs? Will doctors then be officially considered "government employees"?
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It would require positive government action to avoid, yes. You can't expect people to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical tuition for a $30k/year government job.
But there's a problem with the free-market system in this area as well: We have way too many specialists and not nearly enough general practitioners. Canada had the same problem, and through government actions they are bringing the percentage of general practitioners up.
With or without socialized medicine, I firmly believe that government-subsidized medical schools would be one of the most cost-effective options for both bringing up the standard of care and bringing down the costs.
Now as for whether they would be government employees, that would depend on the plan. A lot of what people fearfully call "socialized medicine" isn't that. I can't imagine the U.S. going to an actual socialized medicine plan in the next 20 years, let alone anytime soon.
The most likely endgame is what is called a "single-payer" system. In this system, all the doctors continue working for themselves and hospitals. However, when it is time to bill, there are no insurance companies, only a massive government program.