A GOP talking point for the last year has been that many members of the medical community–mostly doctors, who receive the highest pay–don’t like what’s in the Democrats’ health-care plan. A poll featured on the jobs page of the New England Journal of Medicine seems to confirm as much:
Physician Support of Health Reform in General | |
• | 62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented in a more targeted, gradual way, as opposed to the sweeping overhaul that is in legislation. |
• | 28.7% of physicians are in favor of a public option. |
• | 3.6% of physicians prefer the “status quo” and feel that the U.S. health care system is best “as is. |
Health Reform and Primary Care Physicians | |
• | 46.3% of primary care physicians (family medicine and internal medicine) feel that the passing of health reform will either force them out of medicine or make them want to leave medicine. |
Health Reform, Public Option, and Practice Revenue/Physician Income | |
• | 41% of physicians feel that income and practice revenue will “decline or worsen dramatically” with a public option. |
• | 30% feel income will “decline or worsen somewhat” with a public option. |
• | 9% feel income will “improve somewhat” with a public option, and 0.8% feel income will “improve dramatically” with a public option. |
Health Reform, Public Option, and Physician Supply | |
• | 72% of physicians feel that a public option would have a negative impact on physician supply, with 45%feeling it will “decline or worsen dramatically” and 27% predicting it will “decline or worsen somewhat. |
• | 24% of physicians think they will try to retire early if a public option is implemented. |
• | 21% of physicians would try to leave medicine if a public option is implemented, even if not near retirement age at the time. |
Health Reform and Recommending Medicine to Others as a Career | |
• | 36% of physicians would not recommend medicine as a career, regardless of health reform. |
• | 27% would recommend medicine as a career but not if health reform passes. |
• | 25% of physicians would recommend medicine as a career regardless of health reform. |
• | 12% would not recommend medicine as a career now but feel that they would recommend it as a career if health reform passes |
Via Cato’s Chris Moody