Insurance

[Reed]

Newfie,
I agree a little bit about health care reform but it's not fair to broad-scale assail all lawyers.

If you're admitted for trauma and aftercare results in your responsibility to cover the $250,000 your insurance provider refuses, who you gonna call, a politician?

Tort reform in Texas (we know now what it meant) means simply that a corporation can enjoy limited liability when they purposefully screw the public. For medical malpractice cases, if the doc's good at what he does, no jury will punish him irregardless of representation, if he's a crappy doc, he needs to get sued. I'm alive partly because I checked on docs beforehand. If they had numerous liability cases in their past, it's a pretty good idea to stay away from them in the future.

 

[murphy4trees]

How did you get the info on doc's liability cases?
Checking up is definately a good idea.. I heard a lecture where the on the table death rate of different heart operating rooms/teams?? ranged from less than .5% to over 2.5%... which one would you prefer? As I recall that info wasn't available to the public at the time.
God Bless,
Daniel

 

[Newfie]

I don't know about other states, but in Mass there is a database that the public can use to get malpractice info about physicians. Unfortunatley ours has a critical flaw in that it only notes if and how many suits there were, not if the doctor was actually negligent. In our great land there are wingnuts and crooks who will sue for any reason, not necessarily a valid one. And unfortunatley there are unscrupulous attorneys(not all of them) that will take on such cases because it is an easy check. More often than not a physicians malpractice insurance will settle for 50K or a 100K (regardless of culpability)because it is cheaper than fighting it out in court or risk a jury of similar minded greedy individuals. The physician in almost all cases has no say in the matter. So malpractice rates go up, procedure rates go up, insurance rates go up (often without a corresponding increase in physician reimbursement, just more for the shareholder) and patients coverages go down.

Also keep in mind that all of the laws regarding these subjects vary broadly from state to state. we'll see if Bush is truly dedicated to realistic torte reform.

Lastly, remember doctors are human beings also and as such are not infallibale. We expect that from them but seem to forget that when it comes time to pay them.

 

[FBerkel]

Social security disability pays out very little; it's a good idea to supplement with additional diability. My policy runs about 600/year, would provide roughly twice again what SS would pay. It's one of those things I procrastinated for years, til my dad brow-beat me into getting it, and seems like a good deal compared to alot of other insurance burdens on my business.

I provide WC to my guys, pay them well, but a couple still don't feel they can afford H.I. Luckily, the one who crashed his motorcycle was the one who had it. Am considering starting a company plan.

Anyone with tips on finding a good plan?

 

[Nickrosis]

Oakwilt,

I understand your concern about traditional healthcare, but I'm sticking with it because it's what I trust. I also believe in the power of prayer. My opinion, your opinion.

A lot of our customers are doctors. Working for them has pluses and minuses. I get cheap braces, and dental care. We have a number of people to freely consult with about orthopedics, neurology, etc. My physician has a nice landscape now. Our pediatrician has a full service PHC program. The list goes on with my dad's surgeons and other doctors..... They tend to think they're right because that's their role at work - to be the know-all and be-all.

I think they certainly deserve what they're being paid. Considering all the pressure placed on them compared to what we deal with, it's fair. When we screw up and cut down the wrong tree. Fine. When they screw up and someone dies or someone dies when they've tried their heart out, it's entirely different. I've grown up with a mother who is a nurse, and I hold a lot of respect for the profession, but yes it needs an overhaul in the same way ours and most others do as well.

Nickrosis

 

[Reed]

Nickrosis:

I guess I wasn't too clear. In my opinion it's not so much the individuals within the health care system, it's the system that inserts limitations. I'm the product of a staff of physicians who wouldn't give-up and the institution they were part of allowed for that.

I look at my Father's case, in Minnesota (the first HMO state), and limitations listed in clear black and white kept him from recieving the appropriate available protocols I could enjoy in Texas. When reviewed after the facts it was evident that cost controls won out over the doctor's choices on how his colon cancer would be handled. He's fine now, nine years later (we both were diagnosed the same year) but only because he sought legal council. (and yes, a bit of prayer too)

My family here also enjoys some "barter" with our G.P., an excellent doc.

 

[Newfie]

numbers are funny things...

Daniel,

Earlier you said "ranged from less than .5% to over 2.5%... which one would you prefer?" Straight numbers like that can be very misleading. It might just be that the the team with the higher mortality rate is the best team in the country and because of that accept the most difficult cases, which are going to have more mortality associated with their more serious condition..

Sort of like saying I never dropped a tree on anything and you dropped trees on two houses. What that doesn't tell anybody is that you do difficult removals in tiny back yards and I fell nice straight trees in the middle of open fields. Sort of changes the perspective.

Now who would you choose?

Oakwilt, I agree, medical decisions should be made by the physician, not a 20K a year office worker with a cross reference chart. Once read an article about a physician who requested HMO approval for an MRI to determine if a patient had abdominal cancer. Approval was denied because the HMO would only approve the diagnostic if the patient had the cancer How does that make any sense???? But that is the system that the bureacrats, attorneys and bean counters have cooked up. (not all of those professionals are to blame)

 

[Nickrosis]

With my insurance, I've never had anything refused by the insurance company - that's how good it is. Plus, with prescriptions and physicals, I have a very small co-pay. That's the message I was looking to send. My insurance vs. HMOs. Black and white.

Nickrosis

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Nick, has anyone at your compnay had any real sevear conditions like cancer or spinal cord injury? These things are where the denial of services come in, where treatment may be concidered experimental.

 

[Nickrosis]

Well, I don't know much about the business, but I do for my family. My brother, for example, broke his leg skiing when he collided at high speed with a snowboarder. In that case, the insurance would have paid for a 300 mile helicopter trip to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. That's $7,000.

My sister was born with cerebral palsy, and every treatment has been covered by the insurance - not completely, but a lot of it. Like her monthly/weekly/biweekly therapy stops, it would cost $90 per hour, but we co-paid $20 for two hours. Not bad. At the same time, we're obviously paying a bundle for the insurance so you get what you pay for.

Nickrosis