I am grateful that doctors and hospitals are pushing back. I long for simpler times when insurance was a business relationship between the insurer and the insured and had little to do with the doctor or hospital. Folks, I know it might be hard to believe, but there was a time when you were on the hook for the entire bill at the time of service. There were no co-payments. You paid it all. After paying all that money out of pocket, YOU filled out all of the paperwork with YOUR insurance company to get reimbursed based on an 80/20 split (or whatever your arrangement). Once the doctor provides the service to you, he should be able to put your money in his pocket and be done. He should not have to fill out paperwork to get paid by a 3rd-party. If you think it would be a hassle to fill out and file your own paperwork to get reimbursed by your one insurance company, try to imagine the logistics of filling out and filing paperwork to dozens of companies on behalf of hundreds of patients. Would it be a huge shock to go back to paying at the point of sale? You betcha! But it would be worth it. This is what is needed to re-inject market forces and control costs. Fewer people will be able to afford the full cost of routine care. The result is that doctors will make less money and possibly go out of business unless they competitively price their services. Currently, the consumer cares little or nothing about the price of the service. The primary market forces are: 1.). Is it covered? 2.) How much is my deductible? 3.) Have I met my deductible? If it is covered by your insurance policy, the co-payment is affordable, and you have met your policys deductible, where is the incentive for the consumer to shop around? The incentive is upside down. How? If you know you are going to meet your deductible each year and there will be no further (or significantly lower) out of pocket expenses, it is in your best interest to choose the most expensive doctor in town. You will achieve your deductible as early as possible and the rest of the year is relatively inexpensive to you. If you go to a relatively inexpensive doctor, it will take you longer to achieve your deductible. The market forces will drive that consumer to weigh their option of paying a higher premium versus a lower deductible during their next period for open enrollment. Market forces can work in the health care industry. I have seen it. In the mid-90s, I was able to negotiate lower cost with a doctor because I paid cash. The doctor was willing to take less money because he immediately got the money without having to pay someone to fill out paperwork.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Dec 2013 17:41:17 +0000