Universal Healthcare/Nursing Salaries

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I know there's already an active universal healthcare thread, but its political debate nature is inhibiting me from extracting the information I want to know. Put quite simply, does anyone know how a universal healthcare type system in the US would affect nursing salaries? And since Hillary Clinton is all for UH, does anyone predict lowered salaries if she becomes president?

I don't want this thread to become a for-or-against debate. I'm just trying to get an answer... or prediction, perhaps.

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.
This statement just isn't true. I have worked for more than one major medical center in a large city which had a contract with the insurance company that provided coverage for some of the major employers in the area, and I know for a fact that the hospitals lost money on every person they admitted who had insurance with that company -- but the insurer was such a major "player" in the area that the medical centers didn't feel they had any choice but to accept the insurance company's terms (demands!), because refusing them would have cut the medical centers off from such a large proportion of the local population ... I'm not saying that happens everywhere, but it does go in plenty of cities all over the country. It's not at all uncommon for hospitals to lose money on the insured clients from particular insurance companies, and try to make up that money by charging the "self-pay" clients much more than the insurance companies pay for the same procedures/services.

I don't disagree that this happens to some extent, but hospitals don't lose money on every privately insured patient. They may accept lower reimbursement for a particular procedure or diagnosis, but make it up on others. My point is that even with this cost-juggling, private insurance reimbursement is usually significantly more than Medicare and Medicaid for the same/similar diagnoses and procedures. If and when we rely solely on government reimbursement to hospitals, I believe funding will suffer greatly, and salaries also.

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I think UHC and Single Payer are two different but related topics. Single Payer, the government pays and insures, Universal HC can be accomplished in quite a few different ways.

I think UHC will increase demand for nursing services and ultimately wages.

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I don't disagree that this happens to some extent, but hospitals don't lose money on every privately insured patient. They may accept lower reimbursement for a particular procedure or diagnosis, but make it up on others. My point is that even with this cost-juggling, private insurance reimbursement is usually significantly more than Medicare and Medicaid for the same/similar diagnoses and procedures. If and when we rely solely on government reimbursement to hospitals, I believe funding will suffer greatly, and salaries also.

I don't disagree with your description of how insurance reimbursement generally works. However, in the couple specific cases to which I refer, of which I had direct, personal knowledge, the hospitals did lose money on every person they admitted who was insured by that particular insurance company, regardless of the service/procedure involved.

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I'm curious about why anyone would think salaries would be higher under a universal health care system. Just looking at salaries where universal health care exists tell you pretty much the opposite.

Why would the government pay higher wages when they no longer have to compete with the private sector?

The top salary for a Canadian nurse, after 20 years is around $27 an hour. In the UK its a little better with about $29.

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Once universal health care is available, it effectively becomes the only thing available. Why would an employer offer you any other health plan, when you can get if for free from the government? Private insurance will go away. Nursing and other medical service salaries will be dictated by the system. The same system that does so well with Medicare and Veterans benefits, lol. Only with the UHC system, they no longer have any competition. They don't have to pay more to lure health care professionals into the system because they are the only game in town. You take what they pay, or find something else to do.

Thats the way I see it.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

The top salary for a Canadian nurse, after 20 years is around $27 an hour

Actually it's around $36.

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"The top salary for a Canadian nurse, after 20 years is around $27 an hour"

THis is not correct, choskins. I work in Canada and earn over $33 dollars per hour at a basic Nurse 2 rate. We are the 5th highest paid province in Canada (out of 10 provinces), hence some nurses are paid close to $40 dollars per hour in other provinces. In addition, next year we will be getting a 5% raise based on our provincial nurses union contract. Keep in mind that we don't have to worry about health insurance payments. Not bad for Universal Health Care.

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Choskins,

You are describing a single payer system. Universal just means everyone is insured somehow. Single payer could decrease pay by decreasing reimbursements or if the government owned the hospitals, it could directly decrease nursing pay.

I thought Canada used a single-payer system with mostly private, unionized hospitals; is that true?

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

We have public hospitals that are unionized. Everyone is covered through the taxes we pay. Some people take out private insurance for things that are not covered, like prescriptions, some eye exams, dental care.Many people also have these things covered by their employer. Private insurance is quite reasonable.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Personally, I will not work for less. Bottom line.

If salaries stagnate, I am OUT.

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Specializes in Med/surg, home health, ICU, PCU, Cardio.

I just want to add that many citizens in UH, especially in Canada and England, travel all the way to the US and PAY for healthcare here. That to me is a big red flag....

and even if wages go up, everyone's costs will increase in the form of taxes: in the end I think we'll have worse healthcare system at a much bigger cost to all of us. Look at any government run program and you will get the truth....

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Specializes in trauma, ortho, burns, plastic surgery.

UHC definitely will cut nursing salaries. Go for a reasearch on canadian wages for nurses. Number of jobs will be cuted also....a lot of partimes will be open, just a few full times... welcome in! What will be happen more will be "all the same good physicians", long waiting list for a specialist... are many goodies on going... talk honestly with couple of canadian born nurses and couple of immigrant nurses in Canada and compare the responses. You need many perspective to make a global image about the truth of UHC...is for all, but some time what is for all is not the best ideea....just Zuzi 2 cents from a nurse who seen many others health care systems.

Hey I learnt here some american words... "make UHC with brain not for money and not only for heart".. quote from a old american nurse, loooool

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