Re: Health care reform and us non-conventional types

[Guest guest]

I have been, since I left Government 100 years ago.......or it seems, an

Insurance Professional dealing with company Group Insurance Plans as well as

individual plans for 36 years.

I see no 'cutting off' going on and in my own situation either. First, one

needs a very mild-mannered and cooperative General Practitioner (GP) besides an

Onc..........if one needs/wants an Onc that is. The GP can order any tests

you can convince him you think you need.

However there are excesses and that must be dealt with or we'll never get a

handle on Health-Care costs. Just last week we presented our largest group

client and my only one left (90% retired) with an 18% rate increase. This is

on top of an already $400,000 annual premium. That's more than a $70,000

increase. Sooner or later we'll be talking serious money. (sick joke)

My back was killing me so I asked my GP if he thought, from the symptoms, I

could have some nerve impinging going on? He said, " let's do the poor man's

MRI " and he proceeded to have me do some stretches of a sort. He determined it

was muscular/ligament issues. I did a series of therapy sessions and he was

correct. Saved the insurer a ton of dollars. Perhaps if more physicians did

the Poor Man's MRI and we, like you and me, stop using so many scans to

determine something we're not going to do anyway.............things will change.

I do not buy the " defensive medicine " any more than I buy the " litigation pitch "

they are using. A big part of the cost is the uninsured with the insured paying

for them as well as physicians making multiple millions of dollars in income

because they have a good practice. A lawyer client once advised, " We love to

send people for MRIs because it is guaranteed to show something " . Something?

This drifted way off the Cancer topic, however I thought this needed to be

answered by someone that knows the industry and its problems. BTW, one of my

favorite sayings is: " The reason there are so many malpractice claims is

because there is so much malpractice. " Insurers own the system with the help of

Big Pharma and the AMA.

JC

[Guest guest]

A lawyer client once advised, " We love to send people for MRIs because it is

guaranteed to show something " . Something?

>

Your comments are certainly credible ... I definitely see your point.

Interesting ... I thought I was saving my insurer money for opting for MRI

rather than CT scan (as well as saving myself radiation!). Aren't they cheaper?

Haven't had one since Feb anyway.

xxoo