Re: OT: Palin Strikes Again

On Aug 10, 12:39 pm, wkasimer <wkasi...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Aug 10, 2:56 pm, Pat <pfin...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

This isn't coming from Cuba or Russia - it's coming from my dentist,
who is hardly a political firebrand.  Just last week he was telling me
that for all practical purposes, the insurance companies tell him who
he can treat (if he expects to be reimbursed), which services to
offer, and what to charge.

Nonsense.  They don't tell him what he can charge, or what services he
can offer.  They tell him how much they'll pay him, and which services
they'll pay for.  He is welcome to pass anything else on to the
patient, and probably does so.

Bill, I'm unable to quote his exact words, but, as a practical
businessman operating in a competitve environment, he feels very boxed
in. I introduced the topic, (after the appointment -- I'm not an
idiot!) innocently asking what his views were on the Obama health care
plan, to the extent we can see some of its dim outlines now. It was
he who brought up the paranoia of those on the right, and their claims
that "health care will be rationed!!!" and it was he who made the
statement that it's already being rationed, for all practical
purposes, -- by the insurance providers. He was very frustrated,
and recounted an incident in which a carrier had asked him to submit
his rate list. He did so, and they wrote him back a little later
thanking him and enclosing "his rate list' -- and an analysis showing
how equitable their reimbursement schedule was, when coupled with his
rate list.

But they weren't using his rate list to do to the analysis. He
complained, vigorously and repeatedly, that the rates in the analysis
were NOT his rates and so their entire analysis was false -- and they
blew him off.

I've known the dentist for thirty years, and he's a down-to earth,
easy-going guy, liberal on social issues, but fairly conservative on
economic issues. He's not at all the type of guy given to complaining
about every niggling problem This issue really bothered him.

BTW, perhaps it's only my own view of the world, but dental insurance
is *far* from universal - in fact, I'd argue that most Americans don't
have any coverage for dentistry, and pay for it out of pocket.  And at
the same time, I note that the cost of dental work, while not
inexpensive by any means, seems far more reasonable than the cost of
any sort of non-dental medical care.  Just food for thought...


I don't disagree. One reason, certainly, is that dental insurance
typically doesn't cover anywhere near the percentage of the cost of a
'medical' procedure, and so people, being responsible for a greater
share of the costs, are more reluctant/hesitant to begin treatment for
a major problem. In many cases, no doubt, parents end up having to
'ration' their and their children's dental care. Another factor is
that many people find even the most routine dental procedures
uncomfortable in a way that most trips to the doctor's office are
not. I would wager that there are a lot of folks with dental
insurance, whose fear of the dentist keeps them from properly availing
themselves of his services. Another reason, I suspect is, that
dentistry, more often than most other branches of medicine, remains a
"small business" without the layers of management, beancounters and
what-have-you that, IMO afflicts much of modern American medical
practice.

I'm sure there are many other factors as well.



.

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