- The future of telehealth: Just 6% of U.S. adults said they prefer a virtual-only care model. But 35% of consumers prefer a hybrid approach.
- The gender occupational fatal injuries gap: Should the government act to correct this?
- Biden administration air conditioner regs make purchase and repair more expensive – putting home owners and workers at greater risk during heat waves.
- Lack of DEI in opioid treatment: White adults were 14 times more likely to receive medicine than Black adults. Men had 6 times the likelihood as women.
Category: Telemedicine
Physicians’ Practices Vary: Some are Good, Some are Bad
I am (generally) a big fan of doctors experimenting with different forms of medical practices. Some doctors are sole proprietors and work mostly alone in their office. Years ago, I went to a doctor who did not accept insurance and would not make appointments. His office was small since he didn’t require a billing staff and was very efficient. His prices were transparent and quite low ($35 office call in 1993).
Another physician, this one from Northern Virginia, pioneered primary care consultations by telephone. Doctalker Family Medicine would do house calls, in-office visits and consultations by phone. Each service came with a different price tag. He did not accept insurance, but his office would help patients fill out an insurance claim form for a modest fee. Most of his consultations were by phone.
Why A Physician Visit is Sometimes Billed at Inflated Hospital Prices
Hospitals are the worst place to receive care if there are any other choices. Hospital prices are far higher than the same services available elsewhere. I often tell the story of my wife unknowingly checking on getting a CT scan at a hospital outpatient facility. She discovered that her share of the cost was going to be $2,700. That wasn’t the price; that was just her share of the cost. The price was higher. I quickly found a free-standing radiology clinic willing to do the same procedure for $403. Why was it lower? It wasn’t that one CT scanner was better than the other. It was that one was at the hospital where prices are always higher.
Saturday Links
- Bernie Sanders has a new Medicare for All bill.
- Immortality may not be a blessing.
- Merritt Hawkins: The average wait time for new-patient to see a doctor is 26 days.
- CMS Proposal: Telehealth to Continue Unfettered Thru 2024. (InsideHealthPolicy)
- Social Security is already very progressive: An individual in the bottom fifth of lifetime earners receives a benefit equal to about 80% of their inflation-adjusted pre-retirement earnings. A middle quintile earner receives about 50%, while the top fifth receives 32%.
- Did Obamcare reduce the Disability Rolls? No.
- David Henderson: the reparations debate has everything backwards.
- Words of wisdom from Scott Sumner: The Fed doesn’t battle inflation, it creates inflation… The inflation we’ve experienced over the past few years is almost entirely created by a highly expansionary monetary policy, which drove up nominal GDP.