Single payer information:

Single payer health care, or Medicare for all, is a publicly funded health care financing system. This system establishes one body to pay all health care bills to privately run physician practices and healthcare facilities. The plan is funded through tax dollars with no out of pocket expenses to individuals at the time of service. The benefits of single payer health financing are:
· Everybody in, nobody out. By expanding the risk pool, we extend coverage to everyone which lowers costs.
· Uniform, comprehensive benefits. A single payer will provide coverage for all medically necessary services regardless of pre-existing conditions, employment, or financial status.
· Preventive care. By placing a focus on preventive medicine and helping to ensure that all patients have access to a primary care physician, over all costs come down because more emphasis is placed on quality care and health outcomes.
· Portability if you lose or change your job. A single payer will eliminate the fears of losing one's health coverage if they lose their job. This benefit allows people one less thing to be concerned with in an already difficult time.
· Choice between providers. Under a single payer system, patients are free to choose any physician that they would like to see without the limitations of insurance company networks.
· No interference with care. Treatment decisions remain between the physician and the patient. There is no longer a need to obtain a prior authorization for services. You and your physician of choice have control of what treatment will result in the best personal health outcome.
· Reduced waste. While private insurance companies operate on average at a 33% overhead, our current Medicare system spends approximately 3% on administrative expenses. This is due largely to being a non-profit, government administered, single payer system. The money that can be saved by eliminating profits is enough to fund the entire system.
· Fair reimbursements and negotiations for drug costs. Since every citizen would have access to coverage under a single payer system, the fund is able to provide fair reimbursements to providers because prices do not have to be raised to compensate for uninsured patients that do not have the ability to pay. The plan would also have the ability to negotiate for cheaper prescription prices by making bulk purchases.
· Public oversight. No more back room deals and medical decisions being made by an administrator in an office that doesn't have a medical degree. The establishment of a public fund allows for public oversight by the people that are paying into it.