My Heart Revolution

Because of the stranglehold the insurance companies have on Congress we may never see real meaningful health care reform in this country, unless we do it ourselves.  The people want it and the doctors and nurses want it.  The only culprit is the insurance industry.  So the solution is simple – let’s just cut the insurance industry out of the equation altogether.  Here is a plan on how this might be accomplished, simply by doctors and patients working together:

A lot of the cost in providing medical care comes from the need for doctors to cover themselves with malpractice insurance and also the costs associated with processing insurance claims for medical services.  A doctor who now has to charge $80 for an office visit might be able to provide that same service for around $50 if he didn’t have these costs to contend with.

What would happen if the doctors and the patients simply signed a contract in which they agreed to the following:  The patient would take responsibility for his own bill with no insurance company involvement, the patient would waive the right to file a claim for malpractice, and the doctor in return would provide services with his fee being on a sliding scale according to the patient’s weekly income.  For example, suppose this sliding scale were agreed to at 10 percent of the patient’s weekly income.  A person working for minimum wage would probably pay around $20 to $25 for an office visit.  A person making $100,000 per year would pay $200.  A person who has no income at all would be seen for free.

Overall the doctor would probably make just as much money and his job would be easier.  Patients could afford medical care and everybody could be covered.  Patients would still be able to choose their doctors.  In fact, if they like getting ripped off by the insurance industry, they could still choose to go to doctors who would not be interested in such an arrangement.  Doctors who like having to contend with insurance industry interference could continue to do so.  It would simply be up to patients to decide which doctor they want to support.

Small employers would also benefit if more doctors and patients made these arrangements.  Instead of having to provide employees with health insurance they could simply provide employees with information about which doctors can offer these types of plans.  Since most employer health insurance plans require premiums to be taken from the employee’s pay check, this could also be eliminated, which in turn gives the employees a slight raise in pay.  That money could probably cover most of their office visits under these sliding scale arrangements.

The next question is, what to do about the costlier medical procedures, and hospital stays?  It’s possible these could also be worked out on a sliding scale and still be profitable for the providers.  By eliminating the insurance companies, the costlier procedures would go down in cost.  Contracts could also be worked out which give patients a payment plan at a reasonable interest rate to make things easier.  In return again the patient agrees to waive rights to a malpractice suit, and conditions could be added to the contract to make collection of payments more enforceable.

Another way to fight back against the insurance companies is to lend our support to the nation’s free clinics.  This is another topic and you can find out more about it by visiting the website for the free clinics association:

http://www.freeclinics.us/index.php

If there are doctors or other medical providers reading this article, I would be very interested in hearing any feedback on how workable such a plan might be.  I really believe that patients and doctors working together can come up with workable solutions that leave the thieving insurance companies out in the cold.

Ron Coleman has been a freelance cartoonist and writer for over 40 years. His work has appeared in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, books and on the internet. Samples of his work can be seen at his website:
http://www.colemantoons.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/doctors-and-patients-can-work-together-to-solve-the-nations-healthcare-crisis-1324460.html

My Heart Revolution Heart Health Fitness Congress, Culprit, Doctor Who, Doctors And Nurses, Health Care Reform, Healthcare Crisis, Insurance, Insurance Claims, Insurance Companies, Insurance Company, Insurance Industry, Job, Lot, Malpractice Insurance, Medical Care, Medical Services, Minimum Wage, Much Money, People, Stranglehold

Because of the stranglehold the insurance companies have on Congress we may never see real meaningful health care reform in this country, unless we do it ourselves.  The people want it and the doctors and nurses want it.  The only culprit is the insurance industry.  So the solution is simple – let’s just cut the insurance industry out of the equation altogether.  Here is a plan on how this might be accomplished, simply by doctors and patients working together:

A lot of the cost in providing medical care comes from the need for doctors to cover themselves with malpractice insurance and also the costs associated with processing insurance claims for medical services.  A doctor who now has to charge $80 for an office visit might be able to provide that same service for around $50 if he didn’t have these costs to contend with.

What would happen if the doctors and the patients simply signed a contract in which they agreed to the following:  The patient would take responsibility for his own bill with no insurance company involvement, the patient would waive the right to file a claim for malpractice, and the doctor in return would provide services with his fee being on a sliding scale according to the patient’s weekly income.  For example, suppose this sliding scale were agreed to at 10 percent of the patient’s weekly income.  A person working for minimum wage would probably pay around $20 to $25 for an office visit.  A person making $100,000 per year would pay $200.  A person who has no income at all would be seen for free.

Overall the doctor would probably make just as much money and his job would be easier.  Patients could afford medical care and everybody could be covered.  Patients would still be able to choose their doctors.  In fact, if they like getting ripped off by the insurance industry, they could still choose to go to doctors who would not be interested in such an arrangement.  Doctors who like having to contend with insurance industry interference could continue to do so.  It would simply be up to patients to decide which doctor they want to support.

Small employers would also benefit if more doctors and patients made these arrangements.  Instead of having to provide employees with health insurance they could simply provide employees with information about which doctors can offer these types of plans.  Since most employer health insurance plans require premiums to be taken from the employee’s pay check, this could also be eliminated, which in turn gives the employees a slight raise in pay.  That money could probably cover most of their office visits under these sliding scale arrangements.

The next question is, what to do about the costlier medical procedures, and hospital stays?  It’s possible these could also be worked out on a sliding scale and still be profitable for the providers.  By eliminating the insurance companies, the costlier procedures would go down in cost.  Contracts could also be worked out which give patients a payment plan at a reasonable interest rate to make things easier.  In return again the patient agrees to waive rights to a malpractice suit, and conditions could be added to the contract to make collection of payments more enforceable.

Another way to fight back against the insurance companies is to lend our support to the nation’s free clinics.  This is another topic and you can find out more about it by visiting the website for the free clinics association:

http://www.freeclinics.us/index.php

If there are doctors or other medical providers reading this article, I would be very interested in hearing any feedback on how workable such a plan might be.  I really believe that patients and doctors working together can come up with workable solutions that leave the thieving insurance companies out in the cold.

Ron Coleman has been a freelance cartoonist and writer for over 40 years. His work has appeared in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, books and on the internet. Samples of his work can be seen at his website:
http://www.colemantoons.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/doctors-and-patients-can-work-together-to-solve-the-nations-healthcare-crisis-1324466.html

My Heart Revolution Heart Health Fitness Congress, Culprit, Doctor Who, Doctors And Nurses, Health Care Reform, Healthcare Crisis, Insurance, Insurance Claims, Insurance Companies, Insurance Company, Insurance Industry, Job, Lot, Malpractice Insurance, Medical Care, Medical Services, Minimum Wage, Much Money, People, Stranglehold