This seems like what I propose in higher ed. Let parents start saving up now for kids and let it grow along with the foundations.
On Sun, Apr 8, 2012 at 8:20 PM, Gruss Gott <grussg...@gmail.com> wrote: > > The health care cost dilemma has nothing to do with Obama or any president or > evil insurance companies or greedy doctors or uneducated consumers or > antiquated technology or any other boogie men. It's all of them combined. > > It's a market failure or "prisoners dilemma" thus Obamacare is largely > irrelevant. > > Get employers out of the middle, get the states out of the middle, pay based > on outcomes. > > > > > > On Apr 7, 2012, at 4:26 PM, Jerry Barnes <critic...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> >> Here's another interesting entry in Dr. Smith's blog. >> >> Another not making a profit story >> >> A nurse with whom I am acquainted told me the following story this morning. >> A relative of hers was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and a course >> of chemotherapy was advised. She has a high deductible insurance policy >> (good for her!) but just after the holidays is a little short on cash. >> After having received the news of her diagnosis and just having received >> her first round of chemo, she was told by the cancer treatment facility >> (owned by a LARGE health system in Oklahoma employing oncologists) that she >> must show up with no less than $495 at her next appointment or the deal was >> off: no more chemotherapy for her. >> >> Now those of you that know me or read this blog know that Im a fan of the >> free market. TANSTAAFL (there aint no such thing as a free lunch). Here >> at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, we charge for what we do and we make a >> profit. We just happen to charge about a fifth as much as our hospital >> friends who claim to not make a profit. I continue to be amazed and >> shocked at the strong-arm money grubbing that characterizes these not for >> profit health systems (big hospitals). Come on! Seriously, this woman >> receives a diagnosis during the holidays of breast cancer and she is shoved >> against the wall for money? You think my characterization of this is >> unfair? This shakedown mentality isnt limited to the poor, either. Just >> ask Garth Brooks. >> >> Theres more. The oncologists, previously independent physicians with >> their own chemotherapy center, were free to make allowances for hardship >> prior to their sell out to the hospital for which they now work. The fees >> for their services are now higher than before by virtue of their >> affiliation with the hospital system and their old cancer treatment >> center is now abandoned. This is important to understand for those of you >> who think that physician-owned facilities represent a conflict of interest >> for the owners and that price gouging will be the inevitable result. >> >> The opposite is actually true. Physicians who own their own facilities >> must also own and claim responsibility for the billing practices of the >> facility in addition to that of their private office. This accountability >> of ownership, as I like to call it (economists would refer to this as a >> lack of moral hazard, I think) represents a powerful deflationary effect on >> prices charged patients. Then there is the compassion factor. The >> physician-owned facility and its staff (including the billing and business >> staff) cant aggressively shake patients down for money without tarnishing >> the image of the physician. >> >> Here is how it works at our facility. A surgeon calls me and says, I am >> seeing a child in my office that needs their tonsils out and the family has >> no way to pay. I am not going to charge them for doing the surgery. What >> kind of arrangement do you think we can make for them? And I say,If you >> are donating your time as the surgeon, Ill donate my time as their >> anesthesiologist. Furthermore, lets not charge them for the facility, >> and if they are in a position to pay something later, then so be it. >> >> As owners we can do this. We cant deny our link with our facility. We >> are proud to post our prices online for all to see. We are sure that as an >> outpatient surgical facility we provide a quality of care that is >> unmatched, at prices that none of our competitors can touch. And we are >> making a profit, treating folks like the nurses mother mentioned above, >> without engaging in the not for profit money shakedown that our hospital >> friends have unfortunately institutionalized. >> >> >> >> http://surgerycenterofoklahoma.tumblr.com/post/16645256363/another-not-making-a-profit-story >> >> - >> >> Ninety percent of politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation. >> - Henry Kissinger >> >> Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, >> go out and buy some mo >> >> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:349638 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
