Via the AP:
WASHINGTON — Most large employers say a “Medicare for all” system would lower the number of uninsured people in the United States, but they are concerned it could increase health care costs and taxes while stifling innovation and quality, a new survey shows.
The concerns come as health industry groups seek to block momentum for plans from Democratic presidential candidates and lawmakers to expand Medicare through a single-payer program or to allow people younger than 65 to enroll in the program…
The survey, conducted in May and June by the National Business Group on Health, incorporates answers from 147 large employers, including in health care fields like insurance, pharmaceutical and medical products and health care providers, as well as banking and finance, technology, telecommunications and manufacturing. Forty-nine percent of its members responded.
Nearly three-quarters, or 72 percent, of respondents said they expect a Medicare for all plan would decrease the number of uninsured, but 81 percent said that plan would increase tax rates.
Note: more people say prices would increase than say people would be helped. Socialism does that.
Employers also reported concerns that a Medicare for all plan would decrease delivery innovation, which 69 percent of respondents said they expected, while 56 percent said such a plan would decrease health care quality.
“There’s just quite a lot of concern about employers and the devil in the details about whether these proposals would actually lead to improving cost and quality outcomes for covered family members,” Ellen Kelsay, chief strategy officer at the National Business Group on Health, said Tuesday at a press briefing outlining the report.