Rapidly increasing medical costs
Dear Dr. Gott: What can we, as patients, do to help solve the crisis in the health-care industry?
Dear Reader: My patient, a healthy retiree in his 70s, came to me because of ringing in his ears and hearing loss. Ordinarily, I like to examine such patients because the cause of the problem may be something as simple and mundane as impacted ear wax. When the wax presses against the ear drums, it reduces hearing and often leads to hissing tinnitus. Removal of the wax produces immediate improvement.
Unfortunately for my patient, this was not the case; his ears were as clean as whistles.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to refer you to an otolaryngologist,” I told him. “You need a hearing test and a more meticulous examination than I can perform.”
He agreed.
“You’ve got at least two options,” I explained. “The specialist I usually use is very good and reasonably priced. However, his office is a 45-minute drive from here. On the other hand, there’s a new ear-nose-and-throat specialist about 15 minutes away. He has good credentials, but I haven’t had much personal experience with him. I think you should know that I’ve had several complaints that his fees are astronomically high.”
“I want convenience,” retorted my patient. “I don’t care about the fee because Medicare will cover it.”
With this blunt statement, my patient defined what I perceive to be a major cause of rapidly increasing medical costs: lack of accountability. If my patient had to pay the bill himself, he would be a much more conscientious (and frugal) consumer. What’s more, my patient’s attitude suggests why a “three-on-a-match” national health insurance, such as the Canadian system, would be disastrous for the United States.
