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Originally Posted by flstf
The medical industry is out of control. Whether it's the high cost of malpractice insurance and/or doctor charges the costs all get payed by us eventually.
As your post points out there seems to be no cost control other than what is dictated by the insurance companies. An industry without competition leads to much higher costs. What incentive do they have to charge reasonable prices for their services? IMHO this will lead to government provided healthcare soon.
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Government-provided health care is the PROBLEM, not the solution:
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Doctors fight Medicare fee cuts
Lobbying effort will try to block payment curbs
Robert Pear
New York Times
Apr. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Doctors are mobilizing a nationwide lobbying campaign to stave off cuts in their Medicare fees as Congress hunts for ways to rein in the soaring cost of the insurance program.
Because of a quirk in federal law, Medicare will cut payments to doctors by 4 to 5 percent in each of the next six years, Bush administration officials say.
"This is a very difficult problem," Michael Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services, said last week. "Unless something changes, there will be quite substantial reductions in physician fees."
Doctors said that if the cuts took effect, they would be less likely to treat Medicare patients because the payments would not cover the costs of care.
Dr. Nancy Nielsen, speaker of the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association, said the cuts "would have a devastating effect on access to care" for elderly and disabled patients.
The association is urging its members to call and e-mail Congress, which reconvenes this week, and it has organized a nationwide network of patients to "help stop the cuts."
It has also devised posters for display in doctors' offices, saying that the cuts threaten "physicians' ability to serve Medicare patients in the future."
Any action by Congress would affect beneficiaries and perhaps other taxpayers as well. Premiums are adjusted each year to cover about 25 percent of Medicare spending for doctors and other health care professionals, with most of the remainder coming from general tax revenues. So if Medicare pays doctors more, premiums will rise even more than projected under current law.
The basic premium, $78.20 a month, has increased 33 percent in the past two years. The Bush administration predicts that premiums next year, for basic coverage and the new prescription drug benefit, will total $125 a month, or $1,500 a year.
Advocates for Medicare beneficiaries are torn. They express alarm at the prospect of higher premiums. But they worry that doctors will refuse to take new Medicare patients if payments are cut.
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Remember that physicians who accept Medicare are required to charge ONLY the government-approved fee. Then they have to wait 30-60 days to receive it. Also, some states require that physicians accept Medicare in order to practice there. I can't think of another industry that allows the government to fix prices in this way. Certainly not the insurance or legal industries.
So I challenge any businessperson to tell me how doctors are supposed to pay increased workmen's comp, increased professional liability, increased salaries, increased rent, increased utilities, increased equipment, increased supplies, and continuing education, when their Medicare income is going to be cut by 30% over the next six years. As the article says, many of them will get pissed off and retire. Supply and demand will then raise fees, unless we import physicians from other countries. That hasn't always worked so well.
I can tell you a few ways doctors stay afloat:
1. Herd people through like cattle.
2. Pad bills
3. Go flat-out dishonest, and bill for things not done.
4. Set fees through the roof for anyone who doesn't have a plan with fee limits (sound familiar?) It resembles the cliche about how much bargaining power you have when your tire is flat, you have no spare, and you're 50 miles from the next gas station.
So make no mistake: Workers of today are funding retirees. This should scare the crap out of all you twenty-somethings who are going to be supporting a huge number of baby boomers in a few years, courtesy of your state's elected representatives, who coincidentally have a much better health plan, paid for by you.
Most people in the 20-30 age range haven't noticed, because they rarely have to go to a doctor. Or they're too busy getting worked up about causes like gay marriage, or the role of "womyn" in today's society. But I digress.
It should be noted that a few years ago, the total compensation package for the head of Traveler's Insurance was $52 million. For one year.
I'll end this rant now. Is it apparent that I disagree with the statement about "no cost controls?"