Posted on 03/24/2010 5:42:07 PM PDT by Sir Gawain
March 23, 2010
My Dear Patient,
As you must know, Congress has just passed extensive legislation governing health care delivery and insurance systems. Whether you agree with what it does or not, we are all now subject to this law and its sweeping changes.
I have always conducted my medical practice with my patient’s best interests as my first priority. Although not legally obliged to do so, I have routinely provided you with a receipt that has all the codes necessary to bill your own health insurance company for any reimbursement to which you are entitled. Until now, that insurance company was a free enterprise despite the fact that it was heavily regulated by state and federal laws. Now the situation is quite different. Through the new law’s mandates, regulatory powers and reform, health insurance is and will be largely a government activity which will have an ever larger jurisdiction over how doctors practice, make clinical judgments and are paid.
(Excerpt) Read more at corner.nationalreview.com ...
Hey, I like this doctor. Is she a GP or a specialist or what?
(And, by the way: What the hell is wrong with FR tonight? It’s either locking up or getting kicked out.)
Where does she practice. I’m not opposed to driving across the country for my medical care. God bless this doctor for putting her PATIENT’S ahead of this crapola
Amen. God bless our doctors. They already hate the constraints placed upon them by our insurance companies. But the Federal Government will be an impossible taskmaster.
I know many older docs who are “set” will be retiring early. I know many younger docs have decided to go back to school to pursue a different career.
Although your absence will be a great inconvenience to the rest of us, this new law targets you even more directly than we patients. So we understand and support your “going Galt.”
Hope to see you again after we have slayed the ObamaCare monster (and passed a constitutional amendment to guarantee that such a tyranny will never happen again).
By the way, isn’t it odd that the lawyers in Congress don’t see a need for the American people to have access to quality, affordable legal services? After all, if you can barely afford your health care premiums, how can you possibly afford to pay $200/hour for a lawyer to sue the a$$ off your doctor for malpractice?
You go, Dr. Johnston! I wish I knew where she was practicing; I’d go to her in a heartbeat.
Regards,
The goverment has been getting between doctors and patients for years. Making mds ask about guns in homes, sex education.
Did you read the entire post? She's refusing to give her patients coded receipts (receipts with medical billing codes). Without these coded receipts, they won't get reimbursed by their insurance companies.
This doesn't put her patients ahead of this crapola. She's putting her political (and presumably economic) beliefs ahead of her patients. That's her right, of course.
Just to be clear: The doctor is refusing to give her patients receipts with medical billing codes. Without the medical billing codes, the patients cannot be reimbused by their insurance company.
It's her right to protest. This is not going to hurt the government, just her patients.
I appreciate the sentiment but this bunch doesn't obey the Constitution now so why would they obey an amended one?
After all, they are the ones who want to take our Constitutionally mandated right to bear arms away from us. How much plainer can that be? It is only the 2nd Amendment so what would another amendment do?
I have no problem with the doctor exercising her right to run her practice as she sees fit.
I’m not sure I understand what she’s doing differently.
Thanks for posting this...
Except for the fact that her patients’ medical records will remain private.
No, she’s just doing what my husband’s doctor did in advance of this Obamanation. She’s taking her practice private. She gives you medical care and you pay her, just like in the old days. Lots of doctors have already informed their patients of their new way to practice.
Of course. Not many doctors pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to go to medical school, spend thousands more for board exams and insurance, endure through thousands of hours studying and working in a residency and a fellowship just to satisfy a need to serve their patients for free.
Yes, I read it and she is putting her patients first.
If you want a coded receipt, there are all kinds of doctors that will be participating. Since she has decided to NOT accept any insurance, she is not giving the receipts. She is in the minority. Those, like me, who value their privacy will have a difficult time finding a doctor such as her. Those who have no problem with the government having free access to their medical records so government panels can ration out whatever healthcare they think you deserve will be able to go most doctors and get the coded receipts.
I think people will get the idea real soon that even health insurance may be a sham. We have a medical savings account with a $10,000 deductible. Our family (2adults and 4 children (9-19 yo) are covered for ONLY for catastrophic illnesses. When my husband did this at least 10 years ago I thought he was nuts but we have saved SO much money. We pay everything our of pocket including pharmaceuticals.
It looks as if she is prepared to try the concierge MD-VIP route.
Have posted on previous threads about this. For an annual fee (which is probably equivalent to an annual insurance premium) participating physicians give you 24/7 coverage.
see here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concierge_medicine
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