Physicians Support Public Option

A recent survey of nearly 5,000 physicians showed strong support (63 percent) for health reform that expands public and private health insurance options. Only 27 percent of responding physicians favored the expansion of private options only.

The findings are reported in the September 22nd issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The strong support for expanding public and private options was present among all subgroups surveyed.  That is, there were no significant differences associated with practice locations (urban or rural), practice type, or specialty group.  Members of the establishment American Medical Association (AMA) supported the public and private combination of expanded coverage just as strongly as did non-AMA members.

The authors of the study, Dr. Salomeh Keyhani and Dr. Alex Frederman, stated: "(I)t seems clear that the majority of U.S. physicians support using both public and private insurance options to expand coverage.  A majority of physicians also support the expansin of Medicare.  Support for the public option is consistent across physican specialities, practice settings, and regions of the country, and therefor should be carefully considered by lawmakers as they finalize legislation to reform health care and provide coverage for 47 million uninsured Americans."