There is no question whatsoever in my mind, the market has utterly and abysmally failed.
What market? Two words. HEALTH. CARE.
Let’s add a few words to that, "not without insurance we don’t!"
A disturbing trend has emerged at doctor’s offices here in Texas, paying fees up front, before you ever see the doctor. And of course the first question you get asked the second you walk in, "has any of your insurance information changed since last time?" Or, if it’s your first visit, "please arrive early so you can fill in our paperwork". ‘Our paperwork’ being endless reams of insurance information, along with surrendering your insurance card so that they can be sure to get a copy for their files.
Now it’s gone one step further. After an extremely dissatisfactory experience with a ‘primary care manager’ (read, physician that I was forced to change to after changing insurance companies, because god forbid you ever get to keep the same doctor, *sigh*), I decided that I had picked the wrong name off the list, and was going to take a stab at another one. (What? Get a recommendation from someone?? Doctors that people recommend don’t accept TRICARE, my dear).
So attempt two was actually a lucky attempt. The new ‘PCM’ is one I can live with, knowledgeable, friendly, willing to talk with a concerned mother instead of meeting her queries with a blank stare. So more paperwork. Fill out the request form so old doctor sends new doctor medical records.
All is groovy...until! I get the letter in the mail from old doctor, "we’d be happy to send our medical records (hmmm, thought they were mine) to your new doctor, once you pay us $25 for copy costs".
WHAT????? $25 for copy costs? And this is PER RECORD, i.e. I went ahead and requested for both of my children, so a record copy for each one is $25! I think I could copy 4-5 pages (if that!) for a hell of a lot less at Kinko’s, thank you very much! And get this! It’s perfectly legal, although legal in America doesn’t always equate to ethical in my opinion, but I digress.
I researched the Board Rules of the Texas State Medical Board. A charge of $25 for up to the first 20 pages of a medical record is considered a "reasonable" charge. I don’t consider $25 "reasonable" at all. In fact, I would think that forwarding medical records is a professional courtesy that is expected when one changes doctors. I have NEVER had to pay for records before, and unfortunately, due to many moves, I’ve changed doctors A LOT.
Which brings me back to the original point. The market has failed, and those who cling to the notion that the market will fix things are worshipping a false god. Because the market has failed (and lawyers have made things even worse) have doctors been so squeezed by liability insurance premiums and horrible insurance reimbursement rates that they have stooped to charging $25 for copies of OUR records? Has the Hippocratic Oath been buried under mounds of insurance company red tape?
I can tell you this. Somebody’s making money off of health care. And increasingly, that somebody does not have a D-R in front of his/her name. The patient is also getting more and more screwed — even if they’re "fortunate" enough to have insurance. And I haven’t even touched on prescription medicine, the exhorbitant cost of which is driving many of our elderly into poverty.
There has to be a fix and soon. Hillary’s plan may have been too unwieldy, but she was on the right track. Call me a socialist, I don’t care. See how your opinion changes when you have to pay $25 for YOUR records...