Someone pointed out a flaw in Medicare. For an honest doctor, Medicare is a lousy deal. The fees per Medicare patient are too low. However, a dishonest doctor can make a lot of money off Medicare!
Suppose Medicare specifies a payment of $X per patient. The profit-maximizing strategy is for the doctor to see as many patients as possible in a short period of time. The goal is not to maximize quality of medical care, but to minimize time spent per patient.
The overuse of prescription drugs facilitates this. The doctor is a drug dealer. The patient must see the doctor to get a prescription refill. Issuing a refill only takes the doctor a minute.
Medicare encourages abuse of tests. If a test for X is covered by Medicare, then the doctor gives a test for X.
Via the healthcare "reform" law, all private plans will operate similarly to Medicare. People are forced to enroll in a State-sanctioned plan. This makes it hard for a doctor to say "F*** insurance! I'm going back to straight cash for service!" If doctors do start dropping out of State plans, there will be a law making participation mandatory.
Medicare rewards dishonest doctors and penalizes honest doctors. A dishonest doctor milks the State for payments. An honest doctor earns a lousy return on his investment in his medical career.
The real problem with the healthcare system is the State/AMA licensing cartel for doctors. Hopefully, the reform will be such a disaster that people are forced to get healthcare in the counter-economy. I don't know any agorist doctors, but that may change as the State economy collapses. "Start a drug-free mental health treatment business!" is one of my agorist business ideas.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Medicare Favors Dishonest Doctors
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4 comments:
This is so true - doctors are much like drug dealers. Most people think that main function of DEA is to fight illegal drugs. Wrong! DEA is there to protect doctor's privilege to write a prescription and to protect pharmaceutical companies from competition. Doctors are already opting-out of Medicare. Doctors are not the only problem. When an insurance company sees that a doctor X is making a lot of money they simply raise his "malpractice" insurance. This is just their way to milk a doctor.
I've read about doctors 'faking' appointments to make more money of medicare. How can they do this? Also, how are they found out?
c.
I would not be disabled if this were not true. waited fifteen years for a diagnosis.. had a wonderful doctor who showed me how I had been lied to and ripped off. Unfortunately he died before he could put that to paper
I had more than 10 psychiatrists before I found one who tried giving me Seroquel. That drug worked, but all the others were horrible.
If a doctor had tried that right away, I might have avoided several years of sickness.
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