Pipes’ wrong---US single-payer would not be identical to Canada’s and US administration would prevent long wait times.

A Reuters survey in August found that the vast majority of Americans, 70%, now support Medicare-for-all. And doctors, many who once vehemently opposed the idea, are increasingly on board. A survey last fall found that physicians favor a single-payer system by a slight margin even though many say their income will suffer under such a system and possibly lower the quality of care. The survey found that physicians favor a single-payer healthcare system (48%) over a multiple-payer system (45%).

But Pipes, director of the conservative think tank and an outspoken critic of government-run healthcare, said instead of looking to the neighbor to the north as a model, Americans should look at the Canadian health system as a warning. When the government is the sole provider of healthcare, you get long wait times, rationed care and higher taxes, she said.

But another healthcare expert said those long waits in Canada don’t have to translate to the U.S. Those wait times are not a result of the single-payer system itself but of system management, argues Colleen M. Flood, director of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics at the University of Ottawa.

Wait times vary across many “single” payer systems, which would include social health insurance systems seen across Europe, Flood said in an email to FierceHealthcare. Many “single” payer systems have few or no problems with wait times, she said.

“If there is a desire to get rid of wait times, that is certainly possible with appropriate management,” she said. For example, several years ago Ontario had a problem with wait times for cardiac care, a problem it solved with a central system for the province. It meant patients were assessed based on their need and then prioritized to the first available cardiologist/cardiac surgeon, she said.

“Moreover, in terms of wait times, it is unlikely the U.S. would adopt the Canadian style of Medicare that prevents people buying faster care if they want it than available in the public plan,” she said. U.S. patients could “jump the queue” using private health insurance or out-of-pocket payment.