G, completely agree. The docs who run every test and procedure after procedure to milk the insurance companies and patients are just wrong. Believe me, we are well educated, but it does not mean that we or hospitals should charge a patient thousands upon thousands of dollars for a simple procedure. I can see where concierge medicine is going vogue. Think about it, you don't usually go to the supermarket and pay for your food and give an IOU. In medicine, if I see a patient, I have to code for it via ICD9 codes, my biller submits to Medicare or Commercial insurance, and then 4-6 weeks later I will be reimbursed. Medicine is becoming a hassle when it comes to the loops you have to jump through to deal with insurance companies.
So then, how about we go back to the way it was in the 1950's. My father was self-employed. Like a lot of folks we did not have medical insurance. We only went to the doctor if there was something seriously wrong and not for every little thing like some folks do today. Not being insured, we simply paid for an office visit and whatever prescription (if any) the doctor prescribed.
When I see my GP today, the cost of a doctor visit with him is around $130. What do you suppose it was in 1955? Insurance paid him about $75 and I paid $10. Last July after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, I had a Da Vinci radical prostatectomy. I was in the hospital 2 days. The total cost for thprocedurere was $36,000 and change. Insurance paid around $10,000 and I was on the hook for $300. which is my hospital co-pay for two days stay. Being as how I am on a Enhanced Med Advantage Plus RX insurance plan, I imagine billing is something of a nightmare. And yes, my doctors wait to be paid often as long as three months.
Back in the "old" days, my mom had a hysterectomy. My parents paid the hospital and the doctor off over the course of a year so as to not have to borrow money to pay for medical care.
In those days we had neighbors who had very little money and no medical insurance despite the father being a working film editor for the studios. One day their youngest daughter caught fire while her brother tried to start the barbecue with a can of gasoline. The screams were unbelievable. Anyway, the father took his burnt to a crisp daughter to several hospital emergency rooms all of which refused to admit her before finally driving her several miles to what I imagine was L.A. General hospital. A week later she died.
