Archive for September, 2009
Are Doctors Responsible for Rising Health Care Costs?
Posted by Todd Fries | Filed under Health Insurance
Health care costs are high and solving the problem is complex, but one person who controls a lot of what’s spent is your doctor. Doctors get paid per tests, operations and procedures. There’s a built-in incentive to do more of those and not necessarily always provide better health care service to you.
Imagine if your auto mechanic worked in the same fashion? You’d go in for a simple repair, and they’d want to run a few tests “just in case.” This leads to a simple, “Whatever you say, doc” mentality when your doctors order additional services.” If doctors followed their mechanics’ lead and handed out estimates, people might respond differently to requests to perform additional services. (more…)
