"It is totally fair for people to identify private insurers as the key bad actor in our current system," writes Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project. "The quicker we nationalize health insurance, the better."
In Canada the only reason that our administrative waste has increased is because right wing Conservatives have begun to privatize so many of our public healthcare services.
If you think administrative waste is an issue with a single payer healthcare system, then imagine how much additional waste is created by having hospitals and clinics deal with multiple private insurers with their various plan coverages, exceptions, and deductibles.
There’s also the differing pre-approval requirements for the same procedure to be covered by different insurers, as well as appeal processes for denials.
Then there’s financing and collections for the people that have been treated without insurance. The hospitals and clinics still have to get reimbursed for their costs still, regardless of who’s paying.
While the public system may have its inefficiencies, a private system is rather inefficient and moderately expensive at the best of times.