Danilo Manimtim and his wife Marilou both had cataract surgery in Fresno, California in late 2021 and early 2022, respectively. Manimtim, a retired orthopedic surgeon, calculated that since he had met his deductible, his cost-sharing would amount to about $750. He sought care at an outpatient department of a local hospital. As I’ve often said, if you are physically capable of walking, never, ever seek any kind of care at a hospital. Manimtim failed to realize that his health plan, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) health plan, uses an innovative system known as reference pricing. Anthem Blue Cross managed the plan for CalPERS.
Category: Cost of Healthcare
Friday Links
Doctors Hate Insurance Companies Meddling with Patient Care
A survey found that nearly 90% of doctors believe barriers erected by health insurance plans have negatively impacted patient care. The survey also found that doctors are so fed up that two-thirds would not recommend a career in medicine while nearly half (48%) are considering leaving medicine for another career. The survey was 600 physicians with practices in primary care.
Alcohol, Drugs, Homelessness and Crime
Scott Alexander reviews Michael Shellenberger’s San Fransicko:
putting it all together and squinting really hard, I think we can tell a story where 10-20% of the homeless are seriously psychotic, and another 20-30% have contributing mental health conditions including depression, PTSD, and others. Somewhere between 25% and 50% of the homeless have substance abuse problems, and this probably mostly overlaps with the 25% – 50% who have psych diagnoses.