To the editor:
I was pleased to read in the February FP Report ("Rhode Island FP Tackles Access Problem for His Uninsured Patients") that Dr. Michael Fine has not only discovered what I've been screaming about for years -- he has done something about it.
Fine has discovered that so-called health insurance is unreasonably expensive, unfair and irrational. The established practice of charging the uninsured patient more, rather than less, than insurance companies will pay for a service is absurd.
Letter: Fix the Real Problem -- Health Insurance
By Frank Leitnaker, M.D.
• Miesau Army Depot, Germany
3/1/2005
This letter first appeared in the March 2005 FP Report.
Patients and doctors alike have fallen into the trap of demanding that everything be included in insurance coverage. It's understandable that the insurance industry would welcome this mind-set so long as it can charge enough in premiums to cover the claims. But it is incomprehensible why the public and medical profession cannot see the folly in this.
When a patient has "full coverage," do you spend 15 minutes explaining why an X-ray for a minor injury isn't necessary, or do you just go ahead and order the X-ray? Unnecessary lab and imaging tests and prescriptions result in medical expenses that could easily be dispensed with. Add in administrative costs levied by the doctor's office and by the insurance company, and you are pouring money down a rat hole.
Uninsured patients are receptive to reasonable information that will reduce out-of-pocket expenses. Shame on the AAFP for championing universal coverage instead of analyzing the real problem and working to fix it. Now is not too late!
When a patient has "full coverage," do you spend 15 minutes explaining why an X-ray for a minor injury isn't necessary, or do you just go ahead and order the X-ray? Unnecessary lab and imaging tests and prescriptions result in medical expenses that could easily be dispensed with. Add in administrative costs levied by the doctor's office and by the insurance company, and you are pouring money down a rat hole.
Uninsured patients are receptive to reasonable information that will reduce out-of-pocket expenses. Shame on the AAFP for championing universal coverage instead of analyzing the real problem and working to fix it. Now is not too late!
