Depends on other changes to work

The approach cannot deliver its intended benefit without complementary changes or sustained participation. This is a serious limitation when those conditions are absent and less so when they are already in place.

Under your mix of paths

Paths that create or worsen it

Using your saved plan. 0 paths picked.Edit all picks

Caused or worsened by these paths

A cost these paths share. Each path's page says how it applies there.

Public option alongside private insuranceTens of millions of people have no coverageRejected

Universal coverage through the public option depends on automatic enrollment.

Coverage tied to residence, not job or incomePeople lose coverage when their life changes (churn)Chosen

Residence-based coverage requires a larger change to the payer structure.

Prevent new debt by ending point-of-care billsMedical debt affects about 100 million peopleChosen

Preventing bills from generating debt depends on eliminating or nearly eliminating cost sharing.

Eliminate out-of-network statusSurprise billing and a runaway arbitration systemChosen

Removing out-of-network billing requires all providers to accept the payer or uniform rate.

Cut documentation and billing burdenClinician burnout from paperwork and EHR workChosen

Simplifying billing and documentation depends on payer consolidation.

Hospital safety bundles and review committeesHigh maternal mortality and postpartum coverage gapsChosen

Maternal safety protocols and death reviews depend on hospital participation and data reporting.

Mandatory error reporting and learning systemMedical errors and poor care coordinationChosen

Adverse-event reports are useful only when someone acts on them.

Legal wait-time guaranteesLonger waits if demand grows faster than capacityChosen

Allowing patients to switch providers after a care deadline requires spare capacity somewhere else.

Lower costs for clinicians, not only payProviders leave, retire, or go cash-only if pay dropsChosen

Protecting take-home income through lower overhead, malpractice reform, and debt relief depends on those other reforms being carried out.

Hold the single payer to service standardsLosing the choice of health plan and insurer competitionChosen

Service measures and an ombudsman’s power to order fixes depend on political will to enforce them.

Waiting-time guarantees as a backstopFixed budgets can ration careChosen

Allowing delayed patients to move to another hospital requires spare capacity elsewhere.