Daniel C. Bryant

Examines the costs associated with a publicly funded universal health care system in Maine. Distinguishes between costs incurred by providers, payments made by various payers, and the financial burden on residents through taxes and premiums. Estimates the total cost of a single-payer plan for Maine residents and suggests a health care income tax as a funding option. Emphasizes that advocates of single-payer health care need to effectively educate the public and lawmakers about these cost factors to gain support for the reform.

Compares the net income of a hypothetical physician in the current healthcare system with what it would be in five different state-based single-payer plans. Finds that income would remain about the same or higher.

Argues that the meaning of medical professionalism is evolving, adding a sense of the physician's responsibility for the health of the population to the traditional sense of responsibility for the individual and for physician autonomy. Mentions how speaking out in support of “access to medical care for all people,” for example, could go a long way toward reassuring the public that medical professionalism is alive and well, and that, yes, physicians do deserve their respect.