Hospital care accounts for over 30 percent of health care costs in the United States. (here) Therefore, it might be of some interest to know where hospital administrators stand on the idea of “Medicare for All.”

The president of the American Federation of Hospitals (AFH) stated recently that he was “disappointed that … Democrats are going off on this tangent (single-payer).” (here)  The AHF represents investor-owned hospitals, but even the large 5000-member American Hospital Association (AHA) opposed the national “public option” in 2016. (here)

To understand the hospitals’ position, it comes down to “follow the money.”

Medicare reimburses hospitals much less than private insurance. Depending on the procedure or patient diagnosis, the payment may be only 50 percent to 70 percent of what a private health plan would pay. In most cases, this lower reimbursement doesn’t cover hospital costs. In other words, hospitals couldn’t keep their doors open if all patients paid the Medicare rates.

Ironically, the AHA supports Medicaid (here) and state chapters strongly supported the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare.

From a financial standpoint, hospitals view Medicaid, at least as it exists now, in a different fashion than Medicare. All hospitals provide charity care. A substantial portion of this charity care, especially with the expansion population, is now covered somewhat by Medicaid. Hospital administrators figure something is better than nothing.

So, some taxpayer-paid health care is OK, but it’s not financially realistic when every patient is in a government program. “Medicare for All” could very possibly wind up being “Medicaid for All,” with even lower provider and hospital reimbursements. The resulting tragedy would be rationing and much less access to health care for Americans.

The real uncertainty comes from the political nature of a single-payer, government-run system. Health care would, by necessity, compete with every other government activity for funding. Unseen bureaucrats would make recurring budget decisions about how much money health care would receive compared to education, transportation, defense, etc. (here)

Hospital organizations and administrators are correct in opposing “Medicare for All.”