April 07, 2004

Doctors switching to cash-only payments. Tired of the cost of dealing with insurance companies, many physicians are choosing to forgo the process altogether.

(via reenhead)

posted by pmdboi 20 years ago
  • Hallelujah. I'm so sick of the hassles with dealing an insurance company I'd gladly drop $50 every time I visit the doc. Besides, when you add up all the payments made on health insurance you'd probably save money unless you were facing a catastrophic illness. Insurance is worthless in everyday cases anyway. I've been losing my hearing for a couple of years now and my insurer refuses to pay one red cent for anything. Now if I couldn't get it up and wanted boner pills, that's another story entirely.
  • Wall Street Journal ran a story about this about 6 months ago. The doctor in that story was able to do blood work and other procedures for under $20. Not too shabby.
  • I look at insurance as financing my medical care. So while I'd probably end up paying more in the long run, I don't have to worry about coming up with large payments if something happens. (Which, I suppose, is the definition of insurance.) That said, I'm glad this is happening because maybe it will, in time, give a push in the right direction towards health care reforms. Either that, or all the Boomers getting old will do it.
  • Don't hold your breath, Kimberly.