[7ontheline]

Wouldn't this just introduce a whole new level of nightmare paperwork/claims? Right now the medical field is being overrun because there is so much red tape involved in every patient. Things need to be coded properly, claims submitted, etc. It's a HUGE hassle. I realize that government health care (whether state or national) simply replaces the more private plans so you would think that the net gain/loss would be a wash, but if you have any experience with trying to go through the government medical system (say, the VA or Medicaid) you would understand how bad it sucks.

Also, this is likely to exacerbate physician supply issues. States with socialized medicine are likely to lose physicians because reimbursements from government sources are low. They're so low in many cases that it's not even worth practicing. Many physicians turn away Medicaid patients and a number turn away Medicare patients because they are money losers. People aren't going to like it when all of a sudden no neurosurgeons or high-risk OBs are left in their state - this is already happening in certain states with particularly ridiculous med-mal laws.