Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubious
Mike,
I think it comes down to an increasing restriction of a doc's ability to treat a patient the way they learned in school and the increasing feeling of dissatisfaction and helplessness as such. Now, a doc must always use a particular insurance company's guidelines, codes, be subject to utilization and peer review and follow ever changing rules or risk not getting paid.
All these negative aspects for practitioners already exists because of HMO's, UR, etc., and if/when national health care hits it will be like an HMO on steroids, run by the government, where there will be no incentive for a doc to practice what he learned, rather just follow the rules on how to restrict and reduce care based on cost, or risk financial and/or professional sanctions.
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I hope this doesn't happen. Having said that it is happening now, I've seen it, but through the private sector instead. It can also be argued that the Fed empowered the HMO years ago. What to do? You can lobby congress, rally folks to a cause and apply pressure on congress. How do you do that with well placed huge insurance companies? You don't.