Comments on: Putting Patients First http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2011/05/02/putting-patients-first/ End-of-Life Choice, Palliative Care and Counseling Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:08:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Paul Diamond http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2011/05/02/putting-patients-first/#comment-496 Paul Diamond Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:24:03 +0000 http://blog.compassionandchoices.org/?p=1463#comment-496 The story of Margaret Furlong in todays email reverberated with me. Particularly the part about Medicare paying for the treatment she didn't want. In this season where Congress is calling for severe cost cuts Mostly on the backs of the old, the sick and the poor. I have offered up alternatives to the cuts they are pushing. I have been roundly ignored. Here is a proposal in keeping with this latest horror story. I propose a consumer driven plan. Every other service provider has to fix the problem before they are paid. If a plumber doesn't fix your leak you don't have to pay. Not so with medical providers. The doctor, the hospital, the pharmacy and the medical equiptment provider bill the insurance and they are paid. The patient/consumer/insured has no say in the matter. When we go to a doctor we should expect a cure for our illness. If no cure is possible then we have a right to expect relief from our suffering and discomfort. We have the right to have our wishes respected. Before the insurance pays they should present the bill to the patient for their approval. Was the service provided? Was the treatment successful? Were you satisfied? If not, why not? If the patient has a reasonable objection to the bill and Medicare, Medicaid or the insurance company agrees then neither the insurance company nor the patient should not have to pay. That will reduce costs and drive bad doctors out of the business. A medical arbitration board can be set up to settle any disputes. ~;^}> Superstition is unhealthy for children and other living things The story of Margaret Furlong in todays email reverberated with me. Particularly the part about Medicare paying for the treatment she didn’t want.
In this season where Congress is calling for severe cost cuts Mostly on the backs of the old, the sick and the poor. I have offered up alternatives to the cuts they are pushing. I have been roundly ignored.
Here is a proposal in keeping with this latest horror story. I propose a consumer driven plan. Every other service provider has to fix the problem before they are paid. If a plumber doesn’t fix your leak you don’t have to pay. Not so with medical providers. The doctor, the hospital, the pharmacy and the medical equiptment provider bill the insurance and they are paid. The patient/consumer/insured has no say in the matter. When we go to a doctor we should expect a cure for our illness. If no cure is possible then we have a right to expect relief from our suffering and discomfort. We have the right to have our wishes respected.
Before the insurance pays they should present the bill to the patient for their approval. Was the service provided? Was the treatment successful? Were you satisfied? If not, why not?
If the patient has a reasonable objection to the bill and Medicare, Medicaid or the insurance company agrees then neither the insurance company nor the patient should not have to pay. That will reduce costs and drive bad doctors out of the business.
A medical arbitration board can be set up to settle any disputes.
~;^}>

Superstition is unhealthy for children and other living things

]]>