-— I was thinking we need to go back to pay the doctor when you go to the doctor like when I was a kid. There were no co-insurance payments. You went to the doctor you paid the doctor. Insurance was for catastrophic events -—
Yes. Bit one important difference is that medical technology has become much more complex and expensive.
This can be accounted for with Rand Paul’s suggestion to sell 40-hear health insurance policies, like 25-year life insurance policies.
“Yes. Bit one important difference is that medical technology has become much more complex and expensive.”
The main reason its more expensive is due to insurance. My Mom is on Medicare so when she goes to our doctor its $175.00 when I go to the same doctor and pay cash its $40.00
“Yes. Bit one important difference is that medical technology has become much more complex and expensive.”
The main reason its more expensive is due to insurance. My Mom is on Medicare so when she goes to our doctor its $175.00 when I go to the same doctor and pay cash its $40.00
After 21 years in “Private Practice” I saw the writing on the wall. I quit and now work in a Hospital. There is NO Private Practice. Has not been for a long time. Obamacare was the breaking point. The practice I left is now having severe financial problems as I knew was coming. I left before the fall.
Another difference is that telephony technology has become much more complex and expensive and cheap. I mean, who dreamt phones could make and send movies? While it's true that medicine requires personal services, whereas telephony is highly automated, I think it's a mistake to attribute medical cost inflation to technological advances. It's more like, the market system keeps smart phone prices in line, whereas it's totally broken for medical services.
It's damned near impossible to tell what's a fair price for medical services anymore.
For instance, I just got a bill for some blood/urine lab tests. I had seen the doc (at her home office) for a foot infection. She prescribed an antibiotic and, for good measure, whipped out a lab requisition for the local hospital, checked off a bunch of boxes, printed out a list of clinics belonging to the hospital, circled the nearest one, and told me to go in and get stuck and take a piss.
The bill lists over two dozen tests, most costing in the $25-40 range and adding up to close to $1100. My Medicare Advantage company (BCBS) allowed only $108, about 10%. My copay was $20.
The most expensive line item was a vitamin D test, priced at $210. I googled that one and quickly found an independent lab offering the same test for the bargain price of $59. However, the insurance benefits statement allowed a mere $26.77 for that particular test. If your smart phone could perform that test, how much would it cost?