Huge Majority of Doctors Want Public Option for Health Care

Nearly 75 percent of U.S. physicians support a public option for health care and most favor Medicare over private insurance, a new survey by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found.

Private companies interfere far more in patient care than Medicare does, doctors said, explaining why they believe Americans should have a choice between public and private options. The poll covered physicians in rural, urban and small and large communities nationwide.

Support among physicians for a public option was broad and widespread, "whether they lived in southern regions of the United States or traditionally liberal parts of the country, whether they were salaried or practice owners, whether they were specialists or primary care providers," said Dr. Salomeh Keyhani, a Mount Sinai researcher.

Although physicians support some changes in Medicare, a majority say it works better than private insurance. "Physicians favored Medicare when it came to delivering care to patients," said Dr. Alex Federman of Mount Sinai. "They thought Medicare was better when it came to autonomy and their decision making and their ability to get patients the care that they thought the patients needed."