While major healthcare groups have dismissed the possibility of the U.S. adopting a single-payer system, Providence Medical Group CEO Doug Koekkoek, MD, believes a radical shift is coming in the next decade.
“I am thinking we are five to 10 years out before that is a reality,” he said, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. He later added: “Where we are headed right now is probably not sustainable. We will not get to a single-payer system in the current administration, maybe [not] even in the next. Things will have to get worse before they get better. We're probably going to have to see hospitals go out of business and communities not have access to good care.”
Koekkoek’s comments weren’t an endorsement of single-payer healthcare. He said post-Affordable Care Act trends in insurance plan design, like high-deductible plans, have discouraged people from getting care. But moving toward government-controlled reimbursement, he said, wouldn’t match the rising costs for services.
“If costs continue to go up and reimbursements do not, we are going to have hospitals go out of business,” he said. “In a city like Portland, maybe that will not be that devastating. But if you are in a one-hospital town in rural Oregon, it's going to be a big deal.”
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.