Health Care
I am certainly not an expert on the benefits of the proposed Health Care bill, but I do agree that something must be done to control the rising costs from the medical profession as well as other professions.
Last week, my wife visited a doctor and was given a hand-out, a pre-printed form, to solicit support from Congressional members; requesting them to endorse bill that would allow the profession free rein to, more or less, be excluded from reducing their charges.
It would seem that they are afraid that a controlled Health Care plan would limit their fees for fifteen minutes of their time to (say) $40.00 – $50.00 instead of a current $90.00 and upwards.
I understand that ethics demand that a doctor cannot refuse to treat a patient even if said patient is without some form of insurance, or is financially challenged. My thinking is that ‘half a loaf of bread is better than none.’
I cannot fathom that a patient should be asked to intercede in a doctors behalf to guarantee them the right to charge whatever they please. Think about it: Without some form of insurance; the patient who is asked to intercede, could be the very one to whom the Doctor would expect payment from, hence, (the old ‘blood from the turnip theory’).
Ridiculous run-away charges must be stopped somewhere down the line. I certainly do not contend that those in the medical profession are the worst offenders. The sad part is that the ones who have the least are sometimes asked to pay the most.
Recently, I had need of the services of a plumber for a failing water heater. After some ten minutes of checking the appliance, he said that nothing was wrong with it and his fee was $129.95. But, he also suggested replacement of the unit and gave me a written estimate of $1,320.95 to install a new one.
Of course, I declined his generous (?) offer and began searching the local Home Improvement Stores for the cost of a new heater. Imagine my surprise when I found that a new heater retails for $168.00. Now I ask you; is $1,152.95 a reasonable amount for the labor of installing the appliance?
Apparently, the young plumber rationalized that this old, gray-headed, senior citizen would jump at the chance, and allow his company to install a new heater.
Why his estimate was unreasonably high is anyone’s guess. Perhaps he thought that the additional revenue his company would receive would entice his superiors to increase his salary or, at least, to offer him a bonus.
Incidentally, another source revealed that the failure was the result of a bad thermostat that cost less than $30.00 and the labor charge was only slightly more.
I am sure that the plumber was aware that no insurance company would pay over $1,100.00 for the labor of installing a new heater, therefore, they would be dead-set against a Government-controlled plan that would limit their charges to a more reasonable amount.
What I’m suggesting is that someone has to take the bull by the horns and put some amount of control on these spiraling prices that are currently interpreted as, “whatever the traffic will bare.”
Demijon
P.S. A search of the internet reports that a Doctor’s average annual income is in the neighborhood of $150,000.00 while many of their patients survive on a minimum Social Security check with Medicare /Medicaid as their only insurance. Should they be required to pay a cost of double or triple the amount that Medicare approves?
In my humble opinion, the answer is; NO, this simply does not compute. Dj.
