A new survey finds that almost half of the physicians polled support a single-payer healthcare system. The ever expanding paperwork to deal with private- and public-sector insurers has a lot to do with the desire for simplification that would come from “Medicare for all.”

The survey, conducted in February by LinkedIn,  found that 48 percent of the 500 doctors who responded said that they would support a single-payer system that would cover all patients.

The physicians  said that the current fragmented and vastly expensive system blocks patients who don’t have health insurance or can’t find a doctor who accepts their coverage.

“I think healthcare is something that should be available to everyone from cradle to grave,” Keith Paredes,  M.D., a now retired obstetrician-gynecologist in Lakeland, Fla., told LinkedIn.

Foes of a single-payer system, however, fear that it would reduce their earning potential. U.S. physicians are the highest paid in the world. Some other findings from the survey:

• 64 percent of the physicians are using new measures to collect from patients with high-deductible plans.
• One-third offer payment plans to patients while 26 percent require up-front payment.
• 19 percent  have added staff to handle payment issues.
• 54 percent  said they negotiate with insurance companies — work that requires an average of four hours a week.

To read the LinkedIn article, please hit this link.