Linked is the text of HR 676, a bill that would create a single-payer, national health insurance program. I support this bill in theory, but I think it would be very complicated in its implementation. I was hoping the bill would have more detail about how it would handle the various types of doctors' offices, private hospitals, for-profit hospitals, and other facilities, some of which would probably not be able to afford to continue operating after the conversion to single-payer. The hospital where my partner works is a for-profit, doctor-operated specialty hospital. The mechanics of how it would convert to a national health insurance program would be very complex at best. The other concern is the fact that a lot of private insurers would go out of business, which would cost jobs. I didn't see that addressed very well in the bill.
Then again, we've gotta do something about the health care crisis in this country. If we can make single payer work with as little pain as possible, then I'm all for it.
