'Medicare for all' would decimate New York hospitals. Single-payer had better not pay like the government does today.

Crain's New York Business reports:

New York operates one of the largest Medicaid programs in the country, totaling nearly $60 billion annually, with 5 million enrollees. Approximately 1 in 3 New York City residents and approximately 1 in 4 in the rest of the state are enrolled in Medicaid.

Hospitals and health care providers throughout New York remain reliant on government, both Medicaid—and on Medicare—for patient revenue. In fact, Medicare is the largest payer upstate, because of the aging population. For upstate hospitals Medicare accounts for 47% of hospital inpatient revenue, while Medicaid only accounts for 15%. Private insurers account for 20% of total inpatient revenue.

In dividing the tab for hospitals three ways between Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance, government (Medicare and Medicare) is the entity footing most of the bill. Unfortunately, government as a payer hasn’t exactly been a win for the hospital industry. Nearly half of all IHA member hospitals reported negative operating margins in 2016, and the median operating margin for IHA hospitals was a meager 0.3% that year.

The financial struggles of socialism....