Life Without Medicare - Physicians

Physicians much like hospitals would be greatly effected by any dissolving of the Medicare system. I could be wrong, but I believe that physicians were a major driver of the implementation of Medicare in the first place.

I believe getting rid of Medicare would put physicians at the mercy of for-profit insurance companies and consumers. Each would have a different effect on how physicians practice medicine. For-profit insurers are getting less tolerant of the autonomy of physicians. There would be less creativity in the practice of medicine and more "by the book" medicine.

Consumers would also have an effect on the way physicians practice. Consumers can be very loyal to physicians that they have had for many years, but that exists mainly for primary care physicians. Specialists however would have a more difficult time because they are less likely to have great customer service. Without the guarantee of payments from Medicare, physicians would find themselves in a less competitive position.

The prospect of the loss of Medicare would have a very dramatic effect on the way that physicians practice medicine and changing the way physicians practice medicine would ripple throughout the health care system.