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Sat Dec 19
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| posts about #reconstructivesurgery more → |
Breast Reconstruction Patients Are Not Given All The Options |
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Jezebel 
12/23/08
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12/23/08
Insurance company wins again!
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12/23/08
@texanbelle: Look, if a doctor doesn't know how to do something, obviously it's not laziness coming into play. But when they do, and they simply don't lay the option on the table because of a lower rate of pay, one can make the argument that the hippocratic oath is being compromised, and that's the argument I subscribe to. I absolutely blame insurers in part for this, but I take a very disapproving view of doctors who put their wallets ahead of patients' well being.
Doctors are humans, some are good and some aren't. Some are incompetent and some are fantastic. Gods, no.
12/23/08
12/23/08
What's the point of offering something so expensive that even the doctors know the insurers won't cover and obviously majority of patients can't afford on their own.
12/23/08
What if this procedure, and follow up, costs the doctor $15,000 but insurance companies won't pay more than $10,000. Do you think the hippocratic oath requires the doctor to lose the $5,000? Should the doctor just pay that money out of his or her bank account?
And what if somebody uninsured with no money comes along. Does the doctor have to pay the entire $15,000 and provide free care for that person? Does the doctor do that out of his or her own pocket? Or should the doctor increase charges and let every other patient pay for that one patient's care?
And if doctors have to provide free care to those who can't afford to pay, why do any of us have insurance?
12/23/08
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12/23/08
Insurance companies are just weird.
Do you know in some states...insurance companies can deny a woman coverage if she has had c-section?
Health care industry is broken and this is just a one of the many reasons why many people are not getting the help that they need among a long ass list.
12/23/08
Insurance doesn't work the way you've described, they don't pay for procedures as if they were another procedure. I just don't see how judging doctors who have families of their own for not losing money on doing procedures is the right way to go about changing the way the insurance companies function.
12/23/08
Giving false hope is one thing, though, and informing a patient about the options and their costs is another. There's almost always a graceful solution to any problem if the time is taken to think things though, I think. If insurance companies were willing to go part of the way toward paying for this procedure, and doctors were willing to institute payment plans, many more people would be able to have this procedure. HMOs are pretty shifty, though, and cosmetic surgeons don't exactly have a reputation for magnanimity as much as they do for buying nice cars. Making this more available seems doable, but there would have to be a lot more interest placed in the patients' well being for this to happen, unfortunately.
12/23/08
Doctors take a lot of financial hits on a regular basis. For example, every time you have a mammogram, the radiologist loses money. Insurance companies don't pay for even close to what those cost. But they're necessary, so they get done.
But this isn't that type of situation. Not all docs can be offering costly, state-of-the-art procedures, nor should they feel obligated to do so. To bring in a new procedure you have to get the required training, train your ancillary staff, get the hospital on board, etc. All that just for the privilege of losing a lot of money when there's a reliable alternative that's already available?
And what if no one else in the area does it either? Why would you 'inform' your patients about something no one is really doing and no one can afford?
Standards of care evolve over time, and there's nothing in the Hippocratic Oath that requires a doctor to offer every imaginable procedure to his or her patients.
12/23/08
A doctor's portion, as I understand it, is generally what's left after the hospital gets its cut for OR use, assistance, supplies, and the like. I harbor no illusions that it's over 50%, but even 20-30% is a hefty chunk, and it's the part the cost the doctor can control. One should certainly charge a fair price for one's work, but why can't "fair" be negotiable? Plenty of doctors do this with sliding scales and such, why not a cosmetic surgeon?
12/23/08
But if no one else in the area does it, or no one at all, what's the harm in giving information and writing a referral to someone who will, if the patient is interested? And there will always be someone who can afford it, regardless of relative expense. Shouldn't someone with the means to get it in this health care climate be provided the chance to do so?
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