Morning everyone.
@getaclue, back to what I said about the cost of being a doctor outweighing the need for doctors.. The cost of education, plus the cost of licensing, both state and federal for the DEA, continuing education and the big one malpractice insurance in a sue happy society figures into the costs to just set up and run a practice. Lab fees, employee costs, equipment cost, building costs, practice insurance on building and equipment, advertising. The list goes on.
New grads cannot afford to set up their own private practices so they go to work for a hospital or group owned business where everything is provided for them. Plus you have to remember that insurance companies pay a fraction of what the doctor charges for their services. Patients pay a percentage after that and the practice is expected to write off the rest. If the doctor charges 125$ for a medicare patient office visit, medicare will pay maybe 52$ to the practice, the patient will pay 15 $ and the practice is expected to write off the rest.
Ever wonder why out of pocket prices are so high? This is why. Cash paying patients who pay out of pocket make up the difference. The problem is one that isn't going to fix itself. It will become increasingly difficult for people to get timely appointments with their doctors or specialists.
Personally my rheumatologist is booking 3 months in advance also, Clue. It's a pain in the butt.
But I worked for my husband for over 7 years and he was in the medical profession for 40 years so I know what I'm talking about here when it comes to how doctor's offices are ran and what goes into running them.
Patients where we practiced are now having to travel 20+ miles for eyecare if not farther. Small town doctors provide a valuable service but the only way that the town's MD was able to stay in business was to sell out to a hospital in the nearest small city. THEY built him a new building and are now running the 'business' end of the practice. This will be the trend of the future. It isn't going to get any easier.
Sorry for the rant. Our Sidney is no better this morning. She can't keep anything down and is weaker. She's going back to the doctors. Thank God he is only 10 miles away.
@getaclue, back to what I said about the cost of being a doctor outweighing the need for doctors.. The cost of education, plus the cost of licensing, both state and federal for the DEA, continuing education and the big one malpractice insurance in a sue happy society figures into the costs to just set up and run a practice. Lab fees, employee costs, equipment cost, building costs, practice insurance on building and equipment, advertising. The list goes on.
New grads cannot afford to set up their own private practices so they go to work for a hospital or group owned business where everything is provided for them. Plus you have to remember that insurance companies pay a fraction of what the doctor charges for their services. Patients pay a percentage after that and the practice is expected to write off the rest. If the doctor charges 125$ for a medicare patient office visit, medicare will pay maybe 52$ to the practice, the patient will pay 15 $ and the practice is expected to write off the rest.
Ever wonder why out of pocket prices are so high? This is why. Cash paying patients who pay out of pocket make up the difference. The problem is one that isn't going to fix itself. It will become increasingly difficult for people to get timely appointments with their doctors or specialists.
Personally my rheumatologist is booking 3 months in advance also, Clue. It's a pain in the butt.
But I worked for my husband for over 7 years and he was in the medical profession for 40 years so I know what I'm talking about here when it comes to how doctor's offices are ran and what goes into running them.
Patients where we practiced are now having to travel 20+ miles for eyecare if not farther. Small town doctors provide a valuable service but the only way that the town's MD was able to stay in business was to sell out to a hospital in the nearest small city. THEY built him a new building and are now running the 'business' end of the practice. This will be the trend of the future. It isn't going to get any easier.
Sorry for the rant. Our Sidney is no better this morning. She can't keep anything down and is weaker. She's going back to the doctors. Thank God he is only 10 miles away.
