Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Health industry moving to a cash basis?
[Rebecca Cook, "Fed up with insurance, some doctors want payment in cash - and their patients are happy," Associated Press, The San Francisco Gate, 4 April 2004.]
The third-party payer system is beginning to show some cracks as doctors and patients choose to opt out:
When Chuck O'Brien visits his doctor, they talk about his aches and pains, his heart problems and his diet, but never about his health insurance.
That's because his doctor only accepts cash.
Dr. Vern Cherewatenko is one of a small but growing number of physicians across the country who are dumping complicated insurance contracts in favor of simple cash payments.
When O'Brien leaves the exam room, he writes a check for $50 and he's done -- no forms, no ID numbers, no copayments.
"This is traditional medicine. This is what America was like 30 years ago," said O'Brien, 55 and self-employed, who believes he has saved thousands of dollars by dropping his expensive insurance policy and paying cash. "It's a whole world of difference."
[Rebecca Cook, "Fed up with insurance, some doctors want payment in cash - and their patients are happy," Associated Press, The San Francisco Gate, 4 April 2004.]
The third-party payer system is beginning to show some cracks as doctors and patients choose to opt out:
When Chuck O'Brien visits his doctor, they talk about his aches and pains, his heart problems and his diet, but never about his health insurance.
That's because his doctor only accepts cash.
Dr. Vern Cherewatenko is one of a small but growing number of physicians across the country who are dumping complicated insurance contracts in favor of simple cash payments.
When O'Brien leaves the exam room, he writes a check for $50 and he's done -- no forms, no ID numbers, no copayments.
"This is traditional medicine. This is what America was like 30 years ago," said O'Brien, 55 and self-employed, who believes he has saved thousands of dollars by dropping his expensive insurance policy and paying cash. "It's a whole world of difference."
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