Posted on 05/28/2013 8:39:21 AM PDT by llevrok
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Dr. Michael Ciampi took a step this spring that many of his fellow physicians would describe as radical.
The family physician stopped accepting all forms of health insurance. In early 2013, Ciampi sent a letter to his patients informing them that he would no longer accept any kind of health coverage, both private and government-sponsored. Given that he was now asking patients to pay for his services out of pocket, he posted his prices on the practice’s website.
The change took effect April 1.
“It’s been almost unanimous that patients have expressed understanding at why I’m doing what I’m doing, although I’ve had many people leave the practice because they want to be covered by insurance, which is understandable,” Ciampi said.
Before the switch, Ciampi had about 2,000 patients. He lost several hundred, he said. Some patients with health coverage, faced with having to seek reimbursement themselves rather than through his office, bristled at the paperwork burden.
But the decision to do away with insurance allows Ciampi to practice medicine the way he sees fit, he said. Insurance companies no longer dictate how much he charges. He can offer discounts to patients struggling with their medical bills. He can make house calls.
“I’m freed up to do what I think is right for the patients,” Ciampi said. “If I’m providing them a service that they value, they can pay me, and we cut the insurance out as the middleman and cut out a lot of the expense.”
Ciampi expects more doctors will follow suit. Some may choose to run “concierge practices” in which patients pay to keep a doctor on retainer, he said.
Gordon Smith, a spokesman for the Maine Medical Association, wasn’t so sure, saying most patients either want to use the insurance they pay for or need to rely on Medicare and Medicaid.
Even with the loss of some patients, Ciampi expects his practice to perform just as well financially, if not better, than before he ditched insurance. The new approach will likely attract new patients who are self-employed, lack insurance or have high-deductible plans, he said, because Ciampi has slashed his prices.
“I’ve been able to cut my prices in half because my overhead will be so much less,” he said.
Before, Ciampi charged $160 for an office visit with an existing patient facing one or more complicated health problems. Now, he charges $75.
Patients with an earache or strep throat can spend $300 at their local hospital emergency room, or promptly get an appointment at his office and pay $50, he said.
Ciampi collects payment at the end of the visit, freeing him of the time and costs associated with sending bills, he said.
That time is crucial to Ciampi. When his patients come to his office, they see him, not a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner, he said.
“If more doctors were able to do this, that would be real health care reform,” he said. “That’s when we’d see the cost of medicine truly go down.”
People in WV were the biggest supporters of the “Great Society”. Is that still so? They keep the Democrats in Congress but balk at the presidential election now in WV.
I know a dermatologist who only accepts cash. Place is booked and lead times are quite long.
Reminds me of a story told by a an immigrant from the old Soviet Union. On paper, at least, the Soviet Union guaranteed free healthcare to everyone. The way it was suppose to work is you just walked into the local clinic and were treated, no questions asked and no payment required or accepted. A model of the Communist system... However, the way it REALLY worked was that if you didn't slip the doctor some healthy "payola" under the table, the only treatment you would be given was the obligatory aspirin, declared well, and sent home, regardless of what ailed you...
is that legal in this fascist nation?
“How long until the IRS orders an audit? “
My guess is, that under obamacare, any hospital or admitting priveleges will be rescinded. And the government will get away with it because it will threaten hospitals who accept any government payments with fines, etc if they continue to keep such physicians on staff.
Soon there will be heavily armed jack booted armored clad thugs, breaking down his office doors just before opening, they will confiscate everything, without a warrant of course.
Don't know; didn't ask.
I doubt it, though. It would have taken 220 months to pay that off.
The government has the doctors by the balls. Eventually, doctors will only be allowed to practice within governmental dictate...or no license to practice.
Let me suggest something. Find a "free clinic" in your area, in which local doctors participate at no charge to destitute patients. These doctors usually have a regular practice in the neighborhood. When you find them, make an appointment to see them in their regular offices and ask what they charge for various things. Quite often such physicians will happily accept you as a new patient on a cash basis.
I only wish I could find specialists as reasonable as these GP's.
I had an MRI several years ago. While waiting to be called back for the procedure I overheard an office worker talking on the phone to someone that needed an MRI. She quoted $1,700. I then heard her say "Oh, you don't have insurance? The cost is $850".
Big surprise -- my insurance company was billed $1,700 and paid the UCR of $850.
I heard this same story from a friend of my dad's, who had gone back to visit the old country (at the time part of the Soviet Union).
Indeed. Did not HillaryCare have a clause preventing such an alternative health care system lest the well-to-do obtain superior care?
That’s all lots of Americans can afford.
If we HAVE to have auto insurance, why can they not force us to have medical insurance?
I needed a nuclear medicine stress test and had no insurance. I asked the price of the test ($3500) and said, “Well, thanks, but no thanks...no insurance.”
They told me, “You need the test! You can pay us a little each month.”
“How much would you require?”
“$50...whatever you can afford.”
“Thanks!”
I ended up having a heard attack on the treadmill, so it was a good thing I didn’t ignore the problem.
After paying for about 9 months, they said, “If you can pay $1000, we will write off the balance.” With a great offer like that, we scraped together and cleared the bill.
That’s good to hear
Please! Educate yourself on the night/day differences. There is no comparability on these issues at all.
What state CHARGES you if you don't buy car insurance?
And how long will it be before Attorney Corporal Holder says that he either participates fully in OsamaObamaCare or he loses his medical license.
As a side note...my cardiologist,a big time liberal (we've discussed politics),told me during my last visit that he's starting to close down his practice thanks to OsamaObamaCare.He said he would have shut it down in a few years anyway for a typical retirement but he wants no part of OsamaObamaCare and,thus,his decision.He's on the staff of several large Boston hospitals and is a well known and highly skilled physician and,as I said,he's a liberal.
I think that speaks *volumes* about what an utter *disaster* OsamaObamaCare is gonna be.
Not true.Absolutely not true.First of all,there are more than a few people in this country who don't own an car.For example,a surprising number of Manhattan's residents don't own cars.That's due to many factors...the huge costs there being just one.OTOH,everyone in the nation who has a pulse is required to have OsamaObamaCare.Second of all,not *all* states require car owners to have insurance.New Hampshire,for example,doesn't...can't speak for other states.Thirdly...if I'm in a state that requires insurance and I don't have it I DON'T GET A VISIT FROM THE IRS!!!!
Wish there was a doc like this in this area.
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