Sen. Bernie Sanders made many defenses of his healthcare plan that rested on shaky ground, but one of his most egregious statements was that “under our plan, people go to any doctor they want, any hospital they want.”
That has absolutely no basis in reality.
There is nothing in his plan that would require doctors to accept the new government plan, and it’s difficult how you’d do that constitutionally.
The sections of his bill that deal with provider participation (Sections 301-303) focus on the requirements imposed on providers who want to participate in the government plan, but there is nothing to ensure that doctors and hospitals accept the new Medicare plan.
Sanders’ proposal would move all Americans to a new government-run plan within four years. Though he does not detail what he would pay doctors and hospitals under his legislation, a central argument for the type of system he’s proposing is that making the government the primary purchaser of healthcare will give it tremendous leverage over medical providers, bringing costs down.
The dilemma he faces is that if the government pays doctors and hospitals at a high rate, the already astronomical costs of his plan will get even more absurd. If the government puts more of a squeeze on doctors and hospitals, more of them will face financial problems.
They could respond by going out of business, retiring early in a doctor’s case, or moving to some sort of concierge practice where wealthy individuals pay for services directly. This also doesn’t include the long wait times that would result from providing everybody with free healthcare without premiums, co-pays, or deductibles.
The idea that his plan will allow any person to go to any doctor or hospital they want is not supported by his own plan or any idea of how healthcare economics works.
