Whenever I have the opportunity I like to speak with doctors about health care, unfortunately I have a lot of opportunities these days.
Today I asked a doctor which health plan was the worst to deal with. He named the insurer and I was not surprised as I had dealings with them myself. Today’s issue was obtaining approval for surgery. The insurer had given him 48 hours to provide information. Unfortunately, the doctor was on vacation at the time and was unable to reply that quickly. Now the insurer says it will take 90 days to decide on approving the surgery. Clearly I heard only one side of the story, but such bureaucracy is not uncommon.
WhIch plan was the easiest to deal with I also asked. “Medicare, that’s why they are in so much trouble.” That’s not the first time I heard that point of view.
He then volunteered the opinion that we will eventually get to rationing. He was frustrated by family attitudes about end of life care. He related the story if a 94-year-old women, bed ridden, suffering from bed sores with no recognition of her family and yet the family wanted everything done to keep her alive. He understood the families inability to make another decision, but he also knew the cost and the effect such use of resources has on others. He also felt he had no choice but to comply with the family’s wishes to sustain this existence. “We need some relief from the worry of being sued for every decision.”
He asked my wife if she had the tests he recommended. She had, but results had not been sent to him by the other doctor (in the same building). “That’s also a problem,” he said. “I always write letters about my treatment to your other doctors.” “Having to write letters to share this information seems like another problem to me,” I said. “You’re right, it is,” was the response.
So in a five-minute conversation with a person who operates within the system we hear about:
Unnecessary bureaucracy, lack of prudent oversight, the need for a better way to deal with end of life care, concern over malpractice liability and it’s impact on costs, lack of coordination within the system and a dire need for better information technology.
If you read these pages regularly you have heard it all before.
The next time you have the chance, ask your doctor about practicing health care in America (and tell him to read quinnscommentary.com).
And you thought the problem was insurance premiums. LOL
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