There is clearly much that can be done to improve health care both in the delivery and financing. We have been blogging about many aspects that are clearly a problem. Actually, they are frightening; if you have ever had a serious illness or been in a serious car accident you know why we recommend you have a family member with you and advocating for you as much as possible. There is more to consider now.
We are used to insurance companies telling doctors what they will pay for and what they will not pay for. It seems so silly to me that anyone gives them the last say. Doctors should say to their patients, “this is what they will cover, my best advice to you is to do this even though it is not covered and appeal their decision not to pay for it, we will advocate for you as much as we can.“ Let the patient decide. So often the conversation does not give the patient choice, doctors just assume the patient would not accept care that isn’t covered. Not true. Here is a new idea, whose body is it? Who deserves the choice?
This will become a very important in the months to come because the health care legislation has created a real problem for doctors. Treatments will be dictated by a board at the federal level AND the insurance companies. Doctors will work within those frameworks. What happens when someone sues the doctor? That’s right. The doctor takes the fall and he was following the treatment plans of a commission and under the guidance of the insurance company. He will be the one sued. That is why doctors will leave in droves if something is not done with tort reform. The federal government will not be sued, people on those boards are immune to suits, insurance companies are protected. What we have is a system of medical care paid for by people who are not in the room, who do not know the patient, who make decisions based on advice from vested interests. Drug companies give very bad advice, they do not even acknowledge that the body needs nutrition to be healthy or that the body might have a nutrient deficiency of such magnitude it causes a symptom.
Be independent and find doctors who are, it will be far cheaper in the long run. It is pretty easy to afford a catastrophic health plan and take care of routine tests and care yourself. It is more important than ever now.
Currently nothing was done to fix this problem because most legislators are lawyers. They protect the interests of lawyers and we would not want to cut into the big business of malpractice lawsuits would we??!! Those poor patients who were harmed need to be defended by the best. We agree. What is ruthless and nasty is the fact that doctors are ruled by medical boards, insurance companies and now the feds. If a doctor does not provide the “standard of care“ they are risking law suits and loss of their license. The standard of care is established by the group, advised by drug companies and financial types. It is a brave doctor that practices by his own judgement apart from the “group think”. Rare. You can find such a doctor by going to aapsonline.org, or icimed.com, or medical-library.net.