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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHere's an MFA/Single-Payer question...
I use a boutique medical practice (One Medical). I pay $200 a year on top of medical fees to ensure I can always get a same day appointment and I wont be rushed during my visit. Will I still be allowed to under sanders/Warren plan? And if so, is that fair?
Turin_C3PO
(16,224 posts)that stuff like that would still be allowed. Is it fair? Well, lifes not fair so...
Autumn
(46,862 posts)a real healthcare crisis in this country. Your post highlights that.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)There are ways around it, and it's not enforced that often, particularly for a small fee like $200. Also, now, physicians can totally opt out of Medicare, but the rules are quite specific for doing that.
So, if Medicare is the model for universal healthcare and the new health plan continues to prohibit charging more than the set fee for a given service, your physician is enrolled with the Medicare like plan, and that extra fee is basically a way to get a little extra payment from patients than the set Medicare like plan fee, it might be a violation. Again, it's not enforced that often now, and there are ways around it if structured such that the annual or monthly fee is for services that aren't covered by Medicare.
I'd bet, $200 wouldn't be a problem, even if technically a violation. Nowadays, there are physicians who charge $1,000 - $3,000, or even more, as an annual membership fee. That can be an issue.
I suspect any new single payer plan would still allow physicians to totally opt out. If they have enough patients who can afford the annual fee, some might well do that. Lots of physicians are greedy.
Most physicians will likely have to continue seeing the average Jane/Joe at $80, or so, an office visit, plus more for tests, surgeries, etc., to make their average $250K, or so, annually.
Assuming you are insured by a private health plan now, such a fee might be a violation of the physician's contract with the insurer. But, it's even less likely the private insurer would try to enforce that provision.
In any event, there are lots of unanswered matters that will have to be worked out.