Tales of a family doctor: Real cost control
This afternoon, my associate, Dr. Michele Gomez, spent over an hour
battling (so far without success) to get approval for an MRI for a
patient with new neurologic symptoms and a history of metastatic lung
cancer. The reason for this ridiculous waste of time? Three different
insurers each admitted that although she was insured, it was another
local branch which had to take responsibility for payment.
Listening to Dr. Gomez' crusade from across the room, I shook my head. Since our President has started to move forward on health care reform I've heard and agreed with his stark diagnosis: "The biggest driver of long-term deficits are the huge health care costs," he warned in his March 24 press conference. "It is going to be an impossible task for us to balance our budget if we're not taking on rising health care costs."
Yet while I nod in agreement with President Obama's diagnosis, his treatment seems homeopathically weak and divorced from the reality I experience every day.....
Though written for physicians, I am sure that TPM readers will appreciate this as well. The carefully researched links are definitely worth exploring. This will be cross-posted at The Daily Kos on May 7. Please look for it and my other posts here.
Listening to Dr. Gomez' crusade from across the room, I shook my head. Since our President has started to move forward on health care reform I've heard and agreed with his stark diagnosis: "The biggest driver of long-term deficits are the huge health care costs," he warned in his March 24 press conference. "It is going to be an impossible task for us to balance our budget if we're not taking on rising health care costs."
Yet while I nod in agreement with President Obama's diagnosis, his treatment seems homeopathically weak and divorced from the reality I experience every day.....
