A debate between Dr. Nancy Nielsen, president-elect of the American Medical Association and Dr. Don McCanne, Senior Policy Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program.
KALW, San Francisco
July 29, 2007
Hosted by Marty Nemko
Halfway through the debate:
Marty Nemko: You know, as I’m kind of stepping back and listening to this debate, at this moment in time in the debate, it’s seeming as though the advantages of lower costs that would accrue from reduced administrative costs that would come from single payer, the simplification of life that would come from single payer, and retention of choice in the single payer program that you’re advocating, that is choice of doctors and hospitals, right now makes it look like you’re winning. So I’d like to ask you, Don, some tough questions that I think will at least allow our listeners to hear the best answers to these kind of tough questions…
To hear the hour-long broadcast, click on “HERE” for the 7/29 archive:
http://www.martynemko.com/past-and-upcoming-radio-shows
Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
Because of my obvious bias, I’ll not comment here on our respective opinions on the health care reform policies debated. The listeners can draw their own conclusions.
But I would like to mention one point of disagreement that could not be clarified during the limited time of the broadcast. I mentioned that the AMA’s version of choice was the choice of private health plans, allowing individuals to purchase plans with lower premiums, but at a cost of reducing the insurance function of the private plans. Those plans work for the healthy, but not for those who later develop significant medical problems. She replied that this does not at all represent the AMA’s proposal. She used the analogy that you would never buy an unsafe car, but rather you would choose a car with all of the safety features. But the 2007 AMA proposal for reform specifically states: “Benefit mandates should be minimized to allow markets to determine benefit packages and permit a wide choice of coverage options.” This point is absolutely crucial because it further demonstrates how poorly private plans would serve us in a universal system of health care coverage.