Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Health Insurance, Capitol Hill & Blogs, Pt.11 – Routine office visits w/o health insurance.

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Blogger 'insurance-free doc’ provokes a very interesting topic that has not received fair consideration in mainstream thought. He brings out the point that routine office visits may be a prime inefficiency in our current health insurance/care system. He cites that "MGMA data [reports…that the] average physician’s revenue per patient was $250, including co-pays and third party payment. I believe that ‘i-f-d’ suggests the translation that the average American could be paying even less than $250 per year if 3rd party overhead were removed from routine office visits and paid directly, without going through health insurance. He states that, adding 3rd party health insurance to the equation consumes an unnecessary “$200,000 per year in overhead (about $40 per patient” for each visit - paid by the physician, but lost to the patient.

The suggestion is that, if routine office visits were omitted from health insurance premiums, consumers (patients) would be more frugal, but have more control of not being overwhelmed. He supports the success of his suggestion by stating that “- about 60% of [his] 8300 patients are [without health insurance].” As he puts it: “The one who pays the piper calls the tune.”

Our 'insurance-free doc’ also makes use of blogger “Mr. Murray’s” input by emphasizing how, compelling people to frequent the ER for lack of health insurance causes more damage than just the expense. It also takes away the important support structure of the patient. ER’s, he reminds us are very impersonal and deny the patient the advantages of a ‘medical home’.

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