Post
by Sleepless on LI » Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:41 pm
I think Wulfman has the right idea. It's a money thing. But unfortunately that seems to be the impetus with most things in America. Why shouldn't it be with healthcare, too?
And, Nighthawkeye, you're right. There shouldn't be any reason we can't do testing, at the very least, on ourselves that is non-invasive. But certain things that aren't risky are still treated like controlled substances so that the control stays with the providers who make the big bucks. Unfortunately, I can't see this ever changing, although it is a nice thought.
One other note, though, in the doctors' defense, it seems to me that the insurance companies are the ones who are REALLY in control now. Whenever my doctor prescribes something for me, I get a call nine out of ten times from the pharmacy telling me that my insurance company said they denied the prescription the doctor wrote, but there are other (less expensive) formularies they will approve. So it seems that nine out of ten times, my poor doctor has to write a letter of medical necessity so that they will allow me to have what she wants me to have. When people don't take it that far, though, they allow the insurance companies to override the doctors all for the sake of saving themselves some money, certainly not because it's a better formulary for the patient. PLUS, with all these new plans, the doctors who are participating providers in the "network" can bill a certain amount, but only get paid what the company they are part of the network with allows them to receive.
Sad, sad, sad...
L o R i
