Re: 60 Minutes

Mack,


the money I put into the my HSA comes out of my pocket. The money put
into it by my employer is a direct contribution separate from the
insurance policy.

I can use my HSA for more than just hospital bills and doctor bills as
well. However, any unspent at the end of the year does not carry
over.



HSA money does roll over. What you have sounds like a cafeteria plan. All
cafeteria plan money needs to be spent before the end of the year.

HSA and Cafeteria plans are different animals.


that's one hell of an assumption on your part. you're saying that
cost was the most important thing in her decision. based on what
information?

Actually the first assumption was that the HMO was being cheap in treating
the ear infection. There wasn't any supporting evidence of that. A poor
outcome does not = poor care.

My point was that she was accusing the HMO of being cheap with their care. I
was pointing out that the person chosing the care was being cheap. And the
people using the care may be cheap too.


It's hard to call this greed. If a guy is working 100 hours a week
already,
and wants to cut back, how would you do it? It's supply and demand. There
is
an insufficient supply, and overwhelming demand.

that's simple, you cut back your hours and tell your patients you are
only available during these set office hours. there is no law that
says a doctor must see patients 100 hours per week. To claim the only
way to control this is to hike up the rates so that the only patients
you end up seeing are those with good insurance coverage and or large
disposable incomes is in fact greed.

I am unaware of any industry anywhere in the US that has such a price
control scheme, and in medicine it would be terribly counterproductive.

Let's say there are price controls in place. He can only work 60 hours a
week. But there are 120 hours workload of patients out there who want to be
seen.

Can you suggest the rationing method you want to see used ? Particularly
since you want the office visits to be longer, not shorter.

Rationing is happening now in certain subspecialities. Everything is getting
ready to hit the fan in about 5 - 8 years as far as primary care
specialists. The supply is dwindling with retirements of FPs and general
internists, and the numbers of replacements in the pipeline are
insufficient.

I would expect inner cities and rural areas to see the pain first.

If you don't have a primary care doc now, you need to find one you like, and
get them locked in with you.

and personally I would not mind seeing legislation that says a doctor
can only treat so many patients in a specific time period. Meaning
you can't be forced in and out in under 10 minutes and get ripped off
with a bill for 80.00 or more.

Why would you wait for legislation ?

Vote with your feet. See a different doctor. You will be getting better
care, and the doctor will be less busy.


I carry a gun to do my job and there are laws that limit how many
hours a day I work before I must go home and sleep. A doctor can
misdiagnosed and prescribe the wrong meds to god knows how many people
in a day. There damn well should be tighter regs on doctors. a
doctor working 100 hours per week may be reality, but it is not in any
way responsible.

100 hours is not common. 60 hours is really quite common. Most states
already have policing mechanisms in place for docs that are impaired for any
reason,,,,,overwork, drugs, alcohol, mental problems, old age, you name it.


I am really not
going to lose any sleep over a millionaire losing medicare when I may
not be eligible or when I am I won't get anywhere near what I need to
cover the expenses, or taking me out of the picture, you remember
there are American children who are homeless and going unfed as we
type who get less medical care than I did back then.


We agree on the problem.

I can assure you, that ALL Medicare recipients will be expecting their full
Medicare benefits, since they feel that they paid for it over the last 45
years.

I am just the messenger here!

If she was getting advice from a doctor who was not swayed by an HMO
she would have gotten the correct advice.

It was an economic choice to choose to go HMO, which brand of HMO, and to
not opt out of the HMO.

That's why the ideal system will enable YOU to choose your hospital, choose
your doctor, and choose how your care is delivered. This family, or their
employer, traded lower insurance premiums in return for the HMO
restrictions. It was purely an economic decision.

If YOU choose your providers, YOU hire them , fire them, and make them more
responsible for how you do.

Cheers,
WCB


.

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