A single-payer health insurance plan, which has been suggested by some lawmakers, would be disastrous for Americans, says healthcare policy expert Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute.
Pipes, who grew up in Canada, which has such a system, has personal experience with the pitfalls of the system — her elderly mother was denied an early colonoscopy and ended up dying of colon cancer.
"Former Sen. Tom Harkin from Iowa has come out and said, 'Well, you know we could have been more efficient, less costly, if we'd actually gone right to single payer and we had the votes in the House and the Senate to do it,'" Pipes said Thursday on the "Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
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"But they didn't, thank goodness. [A] single payer is not good for people's health. I'm Canadian, I grew up under it. You have long waiting lists. The average Canadian waits on average 18 weeks from seeing a primary care doctor to getting treatment by a specialist."
According to Physicians for a National Health Program, a single payer system consists of one public or quasi-public agency that organizes healthcare financing, but the delivery of care remains largely in private hands.
"Under a single-payer system, all residents of the U.S. would be covered for all medically necessary services, including doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive healthcare, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs," the group says.
She said the Affordable Care Act may eventually lead to rationing of medical services as an independent payment advisory board is established.
"That's a rationing board. It has to be repealed," urged Pipes, who added that less and less people are signing up for President Barack Obama's signature healthcare legislation.
"The next two years are very important and we've got to get rid of it."