The sections of his bill that deal with provider participation (Sections 301-303) focus on the requirements imposed on providers who want to participate in the government plan, but there is nothing to ensure that doctors and hospitals accept the new Medicare plan.
Sanders’ proposal would move all Americans to a new government-run plan within four years. Though he does not detail what he would pay doctors and hospitals under his legislation, a central argument for the type of system he’s proposing is that making the government the primary purchaser of healthcare will give it tremendous leverage over medical providers, bringing costs down.
The dilemma he faces is that if the government pays doctors and hospitals at a high rate, the already astronomical costs of his plan will get even more absurd. If the government puts more of a squeeze on doctors and hospitals, more of them will face financial problems.
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