Hundreds of Doctors Say They'd Move to Vermont for Single-Payer Healthcare

One of the most used arguments against universal healthcare programs is that "the doctors hate them." Despite the fact that it's not true, the "doctors hate it" protestation tends to get more attention than it's due because it sounds scary: "If doctors don't like universal healthcare, does that mean we won't have any doctors if we adopt it?"

A world without doctors would indeed be scary. Luckily for us, that's not going to happen.

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In fact, a lot of doctors actually like the idea of single-payer healthcare. You can see that in this poll, and you can see it in the way hundreds of doctors have begun considering a move to Vermont, which is getting closer and closer to adopting a full-scale, government-run, single-payer healthcare system.

According to Physicians for a National Health Program, a coalition of thousands of doctors seeking to establish universal healthcare in the United States, more than 200 doctors and doctors-in-training have said they'd consider moving to Vermont if it finalizes the single-payer bill its House passed on Thursday.

While most of these physicians reside in nearby states, doctors from as far away as California, Oregon and Washington state – and even Hawaii – would contemplate moving to the Green Mountain State...

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One of the out-of-state doctors who would consider relocating is Scott Graham, a family physician in Marion, Ky. "I would certainly consider moving to Vermont if it passed single payer," he said. "The idea of having one set of rules, one form for billing, and knowing that all patients are covered – that would be wonderful."

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In other words, the next time you hear anyone saying, "Doctors hate universal healthcare," don't tell them to go to hell. Tell them to go to Vermont.