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absolutely
I had a work project where I had to analyze other countries health systems and really understand the markets for 6 or 7 countries that we were evaluating entering. You are absolutely right. It's like someone willingly paying over MSRP for a car with no interest in haggling, even though their friend just bought the same car for $5K under invoice.
Trying to understand how this still isn't the insurance company's fault that they refuse to approve meds that work and instead leave me to suffer. That I have to buy elsewhere is secondary.
Look at it this way. The human body is a functioning system where all the systems interact with one another and impact one another. Do you want a doctor that knows how all of it works together or one that's chosen to ignore 95% of the equation and focus on just one part not being able to articulate how the treatment they are providing you for a specific symptom is going to impact the whole? We are sold the idea that a doctor who specializes is better because they are focused on that one part. Reality is a "specialist" is a doctor who has chosen to focus on one system and forego the rest. Forget the time it takes to get a resolution or the cost for a minute.
The nice thing about paying for a plan (higher premiums naturally) that doesn't have a deductible and doesn't have coinsurance is that I don't have to worry about that stuff. Just need to make sure its in network.
This is likely an unfortunate example you've brought up as a gallbladder can be taken out by interns who are just starting out with minimal to no risk. But without getting into specific treatments and more at a philosophical level, I find it significantly more appealing to have a doctor who has the knowledge and ability to do it all. Similar to my expectations for my mechanic to be able to work on all aspects of my vehicle. It's far less error-prone to have one chef in the kitchen than 20 who aren't talking to each other...at least in my opinion. Really the only one exception I can think of in terms of legit specialists is a brain surgeon.
I would be an easy person too persuade that a field had become to over-run with specialists, but medicine strikes me as an odd example to pick for that. If I have cancer, it seems logical to me that I might want to visit with an oncologist. Heart problems, a cardiologist. Problems with my kid, a pediatrician. My wife sees a gynecologist. And so on.
Came in here to post this. I recently began specialized physical therapy to treat a running injury - the hospital couldn't tell me how much it would cost because they didn't know how much my insurance would cover. My insurance didn't know how much it would cost because they didn't have a bill from the hospital yet. I've completed six visits over the last couple months and just now got my first bill - it says I owe $200 with no description of how many visits that's for. Waiting for either party to let me know if I'm on the hook for just $200 or $1,200+. Good stuff.
This too. It's ridiculous if not criminal.
We know nothing else. When you go to another country and you see doctors perfectly capable of treating cancer along with being able to operate on your heart should it be required a lightbulb goes off. Patient-focused treatment looks very different than symptom-focused treatment.
There's a lot to try and unpack with this post, but it doesn't seem like you have a good understanding of the above. If by intern, you're talking about an internist taking out your gallbladder, that's just not possible nor is it a good idea at all. If you're talking about a surgical intern, that's a different story, but all that refers to is level of training and no, interns should not be doing that unsupervised.
There's just no good answer for this because the same test will cost every person a different amount based on their level of coverage. You can actually get that information if you contact your insurance company prior to getting it done.
sorry...I sorta assumed we understood I was talking about surgical interns when talking about surgery. Apologies for not being clear. Hospital down the road from us has "gallbladder days" during the week. Wednesdays and Saturdays. That's all the ORs are open for from 8am to 3pm. They do dozens a day. It's pretty impressive. My wife's surgeon was a second year surgical resident. And to be clear, I am not saying there is not a place for some specialists, but I just don't see a reason for most of the specialists we have in this country. Yes, there are some exceptions especially when you get into disease.
It actually works really well at my eye doctor. They go through all the options and tell me how much it will cost me based on my insurance.
insurance, I’m know my out of pocket would have been much higher.
So, based on this:
Interesting observation. Health and shelter are closely intertwined, and each extremely important. Ultimately, the former is more important IMO, so I fundamentally believe we should provide universal, affordable (”free”, through taxes) healthcare.
That would never work. The people that would pay nothing to very little would overwhelm the system.
Just make it like any other government program. The federal income tax is already pretty progressive, so funding the health care system out of general tax revenues would have the effect of charging people who can afford it quite a bit while keeping it free for a large chunk of the population. You'll need bureaucrats to ration access to care, but insurance companies do that now -- we're just changing who the bureaucrats are.
Gonna say this might be directed at the wrong people
I hate insurance companies as much as the next guy. That sounds more like an issue with that office though.
I believe that's called surprised billing and is illegal in a lot of states.
Apparently not in NY. WE fought it and got it chewed down a good amount but still pissed us off. We do not see that doctor anymore because of it
