Cost-shifting helps make Medicare, Medicaid look good

Regarding the article “Medicare, Medicaid contain costs better than private insurers, study says” (ModernHealthcare.com, Feb. 11), what this study ignores is the great cost-shifting going on between government and commercial payers. Government payers are fixed and don’t cover costs in many healthcare venues. Providers push commercial payers to cover their costs and produce some profit to stay in business. My company did a study of our ambulatory surgery centers years ago and found Medicare for All would bankrupt all but one of our 24 sites, and we represent the “better, faster, cheaper” alternative in surgical care.

Where this will break down for the patients is providers refusing to take government patients. That will look great for the public budgets because costs will drop but, politically, healthcare providers will be pilloried as greedy opportunists. Then the government will have to force providers to see government patients to keep their licenses. The end of this story will not be pretty.

Thomas Mallon Incline Village, Nev.