Dr. Susan Rutten Wasson
Posted on 06/25/2011 4:04:24 PM PDT by Mount Athos
God bless her. I remember when a week at the hospital cost $125.00 before Medicare went into effect. Now it costs more than $5000 a day! Heck, I was in the emergency for a few hours and it was that much and I slept in my own bed that night! That’s the government for you. The hospitals used to be nonprofit. It didn’t take them long to recoup!
Ah, those were the days when doctors went into medicine to help people instead of making gigantic incomes. They made house calls, too.at no extra charge.
People went into medicine because it was a good steady income and back then you could practice anywhere.
I just looked up the price of a policy on line; I see a price range of $128 up to $373, and even the high price plan has a high ($5000) deductible.
Most years I wouldn’t use even $373 worth of medical services, much less use the $5000 worth necessary to cause the plan to kick in.
I think another way the free market is removed from insurance is through it being employer-subsidized. The employee believes he/she is getting this great health coverage through their employer, when, in reality, it’s part of the cost of hiring them that they don’t receive in the form of pay. Employees who pay their own health insurance coverage would, no doubt, shop around more.
I have employer-provided health coverage. I have no idea what the premiums are.
Great story .. thanks MA !
thank you i try to only post the best ones
Again, I can't agree. What benefits an employer offers is between the employer and the employee. That's a truly free market. Personally, I want all the non-taxable income (read benefits) an employer can provide me. It works out well for both of us. The employer is able to make deals based on the size of the contract and get rates that I could never get on my own. In turn, the employer gives me the benefit, and and I don't have to pay taxes on the value of that income in the form of a benefit. It's win win, and not a conservative position to meddle with it.
I used to be able to get that exact same service in rural Oregon.
That was 24 years ago. Today, the same exact service is $89, only I see a physician.
We had 5 docs in town - one was my uncle, who graduated top of his class at McGill and was state Diagnostician.
They all had their offices in their homes. Uncle Dick's was 3 rooms and a nurse.
He had quite a collection of guns in lieu of payment. Often, he never got paid - often he did procedures in the office to avoid his patients having hospital bills.
My mother had a hysterectomy in the 1940’s. That's when they kept you in the hospital for 2 weeks. I have her bill...which included ALL charges: surgeon, anesthetist, room & board, medications - everything on one bill.
the bill was the size of a check: Total: $45..\
Now everything has gone up, yes, but medical costs have ballooned far out of proportion - especially since the govt got their fingers into the pie.
But when individual states impose must-include coverage, the free market concept is compromised. My last health insurance (before I was priced out of it) had to include lots of things I had absolutely no use for -- alcohol/substance abuse, pre- and post-natal, etc. coverage.
Dr. Susan Rutten Wasson
Good for here and perhaps I missed it but how does she afford malpractice insurance?
Oh, kwell, When I was hyoung was interested in a career in medicine because I wanted to helop people keep[ well. If I really didn’t think about the income. From the time I was twelve I took medical books home from the libraary. I really wasn’t thinking about the income at that time. It was in the forthies, when life was simpler and sweeter than it is now.
Come to think of it, my oldest daughter was in surgery foor five hours when she was three, and the plastic surgeon only charged us $75.00!
get rid of medicare and a lot of problems would be solved instantly....drs would actually work for the patients again, instead of working for the govt or the insurance companies...and it would bring a lot of sanity in an otherwise insane institution....
“Doctors would for the first time in decades have to compete based on what they charge for services.”
I’m old enough to remember when they hated insurance and actually helped people that couldn’t pay. Now they fly to foreign countries to administer aid.
“But then again, you get what you pay for.”
This is another rule that frequently doesn’t apply to medicine.
I hope he is as exceptional as your are pride in him says he should be.
Where can I find a doctor like her? Not just for low prices, but because of the way she thinks outside the box...
Was shocked to find out the cost for one of my grandchildren....over 5,000 dollars...yikes.
Where can someone find a list of concierge or cash-only doctors?
This story just bought this lady an audit from the IRS. Underground economy.....and such.
Exactly. I will "manage" my OWN friggin care, thank you very much. That's not even a role for the doctor. Did the insurance not notice that I was "managing" just fine?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.