Moonrocket wrote:
Iβm curious how you think the system evolved to where we are today where even with insurance you have to hold your breath for a year to see if at some point an out of network radiologist or lab or other was not called into your care resulting in a massive financial issue on top of you insurance which is probably a $20k/ year cost?
The bills are that way because we see 100 patients a day who walk in knowing they're not going to pay a cent of whatever charges they run up. Someone has to pick up that tab, that someone is us.
Nothing is going to change (in Primary Care, mostly) until the consumer is put back into the cost-per-service equation. Insurance/Medicare/Medicaid have taken the consumer completely out of the transaction, so what incentive is there to have any sort of cost analysis or competition?
Insurance should be insurance across the board. No more networks or provider groups.
People also don't realize that medical technology is damned expensive. Can't run down to Wal Mart and get a head CT or EKG. Yet...
ER will never be profitable because it has to be open 24/7/365. Nor do we care about your 2 week old thumb injury, when the guy 2 rooms down can't breathe. But guess who gets the Customer Satisfaction Survey? Guess which one can directly affect my pay?
There's a locally famous case here of a person who got a severe infection and lost a few limbs after visiting our ER, and tried to sue the hospital and doctors who treated her. Person has been on local TV, touted as a "hero" and "super strong," etc. Hospital settled out of court because the person's case would have gotten destroyed in court. Here's a tip - don't go swimming in a lake two days after getting a dozen stitches. The resulting infection will not be the doctor's fault.
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Kotter Getting back into the game...
Slower than you.