Friend quit his practice on Friday

[Hayabusa Rider]

I worked in health insurance. It's the health insurance companies that are the problem. The more difficult they make it for doctors to get paid the more money they keep for themselves.

The government pushed for standardized billing to make it easier for doctors to get paid. The insurance companies fought it.

You worked- past tense. The damn government even made it illegal to deliver diabetic supplies to patients free of charge. You want to explain why it is a violation of federal regulation to add an ICD-9 code to an order upon verbal verification by the prescriber? How about KS vs KX? Anything at all? Tear it up and start over and it's completely unnecessary. No it's gotten much much harder over the last 3 years and doubly so since the beginning of the year. If it's so much easier why do I have to spend less time doing my job and instead of jumping through hoops which are now 3/4 government nonsense like I've brought up? Private insurance was never a gem, but those were the "good old days". We have to deal with this now, and that's one reason why a lot of people are reconsidering their position. There is no justifiable reason why I should have to spend two or three hours on the phone a day trying to fix stupid.

 

[SheHateMe]

Dari has the best stories.


Still trying to find something to top his "abortion inducing Brazilian poison" that his "friend" was going to give to his pregnant girlfriend.

 

[blankslate]

With the amount I've been paying out of pocket while I have insurance, I'm sure it's not as bad as you say.

How much of what you pay for insurance goes to payment for treatment and how much goes to the insurance company's profit and CEO pay?

In this case the middlemen have had a really good run. And they still make a profit although now a bit less of one.


...

 

[pete6032]

You realize that the government is the party which is most responsible for the foolishness and obstruction to care, right? Na.

The market for health care is inherently broken to begin with because our demand for health care is highly inelastic, which leads to many externalities. You cannot blame the government for that.

 

[mrrman]

Well we need an ATOT Dr on call here....

 

[Lifted]

Dari has the best stories.


Still trying to find something to top his "abortion inducing Brazilian poison" that his "friend" was going to give to his pregnant girlfriend.

This.

Dari, your bar stool tales have gotten so bad it's not even worth the energy to play along anymore. How about you put more than 20 seconds of effort in next time.

 

[Dari]

Too many children in this thread. Isn't past your bedtimes? I started this thread after 21:00 for a reason...

 

[Soundmanred]

Yes, everyone on this forum lives in the same time zone.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Too many children in this thread. Isn't past your bedtimes? I started this thread after 21:00 for a reason...

Says the person that bragged claiming he burned down his neighbors house and regularly makes up imaginary tales about all manner of nonsense among many other childish bullshit.

 

[WackyDan]

Maybe if doctors didn't charge insurance companies a million dollars for a simple procedure hoping to get them to agree to at least half of it. The games they play...

What do they say about making beds and having to lie in them?

One of our close friends is an ear, nose and throat specialist in a private practice with three other partners (doctors). He has to charge $2k for one procedure just so that Blue Cross will pay him $600. Half of that $300 goes to overhead in his practice.... The rent @ $9k per month, equipment leasing, and staff.

It is a game he is forced to play due to the insurance companies. The problem isn't with what doctors are charging but the insurance practices as a whole. He'd gladly charge $600 for the procedure if that is what the insurance company would pay, but the insurance companies base everything on percentages... and if you want to accept patients with that insurance you have to play their game.

He is 45...He still devotes 1 day a week to a free clinic. The practice's revenue is down 1/3 already this year thanks in part to Obamacare. The people on the new exchange plans have higher deductibles and out of pocket expense so they are avoiding medical care. He is actually considering leaving private practice and going into another profession. Does he make good money? Sure, and he lives fairly comfortably compared to many, but he is calculating his risks (as are his partners) and wondering if it will get worse than it already is.

 

[brianmanahan]

Says the person that bragged claiming he burned down his neighbors house and regularly makes up imaginary tales about all manner of nonsense among many other childish bulls**t.

 

[WackyDan]

The market for health care is inherently broken to begin with because our demand for health care is highly inelastic, which leads to many externalities. You cannot blame the government for that.

You can blame gov't for why there is a separate Blue Cross/Blue Shield in every state... Or you could blame the insurance companies for lobbying congress to allow it to be so and remain that way. Gov't certainly has created the problems with our healthcare system.

Gov't can take credit for some of our advances in medicine as well, but those days ended back in the first half of the 1900's before healthcare providers, insurers and big pharma got even deeper into the pockets of your gov't.

 

[Dari]

Says the person that bragged claiming he burned down his neighbors house and regularly makes up imaginary tales about all manner of nonsense among many other childish bullshit.

Ahhh, yes, they are all made up. Every single event. Move along so this topic can develop.

 

[Slew Foot]

Yeah, but there are tons of jobs in hospital, HMO's, etc where the doctor gets a salary and the insurance billing is done by his employer. Oh, and malpractice is also paid for by his employer, in most cases.

Its the big bucks from a successful private and group practice that comes along with dealing with insurance companies who want to keep the premiums instead of paying it out to doctors.

And like I said before but it flew over your small minded head, the employer will make sure he's seeing 20-30 patients a day, and filling out all the necessary paperwork and then some to justify his salary.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Ahhh, yes, they are all made up. Every single event. Move along so this topic can develop.

That was anticlimactic. Way to admit to it.

 

[jaedaliu]

Ahhh, yes, they are all made up. Every single event. Move along so this topic can develop.

What's there to develop? Your buddy quit his practice, if he was in a group, the other people will take over his patients and he won't be bought out. If he wasn't, then his patients will find a new doctor.

Changes in health care law and medicare payments are driving the direction of healthcare costs and payments. Good for him to make the decision he didn't want to be in it any more.

Most of us don't work for fun with the salary as a bonus. I hope he finds a job that he can be happy in.

 

[Dari]

That was anticlimactic. Way to admit to it.

I post things that happen in my life with a level of detachment and serenity. If you want to believe it, then so be it. If you don't, don't. I don't give two squirts of piss what others on the internet think of me. Believe you me, I've been called a lot worse to my face...

 

[Dari]

What's there to develop? Your buddy quit his practice, if he was in a group, the other people will take over his patients and he won't be bought out. If he wasn't, then his patients will find a new doctor.

Changes in health care law and medicare payments are driving the direction of healthcare costs and payments. Good for him to make the decision he didn't want to be in it any more.

Most of us don't work for fun with the salary as a bonus. I hope he finds a job that he can be happy in.

I think some of the more knowledgable people in this thread hit on some points that customers like us never really thought about. For example, the heavy regulation and paperwork. Also, the middle-men in this story. I think it's worth a discussion. From what I've read, there seems to be some pent up cynicism and disbelief in the medical world wrt all this. This guy spent like 10 years of his life studying medicine so for him to just up and quit is a big deal, IMHO. That is why I believe it warrants discussion and development.

 

[z1ggy]

My girlfriend is a DPT and bitches about how shitty the US healthcare system is, and how now because of ACA, it's making it harder for her to get a full time salary job. Many PT's are on per diem work, with little to no benefits.

I honestly don't get why this is the case, but that's apparently the environment for her particular medical field.

 

[Anubis]

One of our close friends is an ear, nose and throat specialist in a private practice with three other partners (doctors). He has to charge $2k for one procedure just so that Blue Cross will pay him $600. Half of that $300 goes to overhead in his practice.... The rent @ $9k per month, equipment leasing, and staff.

It is a game he is forced to play due to the insurance companies. The problem isn't with what doctors are charging but the insurance practices as a whole. He'd gladly charge $600 for the procedure if that is what the insurance company would pay, but the insurance companies base everything on percentages... and if you want to accept patients with that insurance you have to play their game.

.

thats basically true for all docs in some way or another. I know for my dad the cost of the actual operation has not really changed in 20 years but insurance now pays like 80% of what it used to.

He works twice as much as he used to and makes much less money. HMOs screwed over everyone besides the people who own the HMOs

i know Medicade pays out like 12$ to do a vasectomy

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Medicine, like religion, is a BUSINESS. They are not in it to make you healthy, because if they did that you would go away and they wouldn't have a business relationship with you. So, knowing the hypocrisy is there within, why participate unless your ethics, nomalcies and morality lean that way, too?

 

[waggy]

Dari has the best stories.


Still trying to find something to top his "abortion inducing Brazilian poison" that his "friend" was going to give to his pregnant girlfriend.

Says the person that bragged claiming he burned down his neighbors house and regularly makes up imaginary tales about all manner of nonsense among many other childish bullshit.

rolf.

and you guys are missing some other fun ones. but hell the list is to long to remember.

 

[Anubis]

And like I said before but it flew over your small minded head, the employer will make sure he's seeing 20-30 patients a day, and filling out all the necessary paperwork and then some to justify his salary.

this may be true for some but its not true for all

my dad is employed by the hospitial he works at. no where is his contract does it state he has to see some number of paitents a da/week/month

 

[Slew Foot]

this may be true for some but its not true for all

my dad is employed by the hospitial he works at. no where is his contract does it state he has to see some number of paitents a da/week/month

It may not be stated explicitly, but if he decides to leaves at noon and see 2 patients a day, his ass is on the grass. Realistically, the hospital controls his patient population and has it set at the point where they can make money.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Until he gives up his licence he is still a doctor. All he did was quit his practice- IE end the business arrangement he was previously in.

Once the fallout ends he can technically move on to practice medicine elsewhere. If he doesn't want to get back into private practice he can go the locum tenens route and basically become the substitute teacher of the medical world (for like 10 times what a substitute teacher gets paid).

If he was part of a group then he will be replaced and the only harm that comes out of it is if he was a good doctor and his replacement is a worse one.