Teaching Doctors the Price of Care, Organic Foods, and 71 Million Unused H1N1 Vaccines
Patients don’t know what anything really costs? The doctor doesn’t either.
Study: People who eat cookies labeled “organic” believe the cookies have 40% fewer calories. Obviously, Mayor Bloomberg and the other nanny state enthusiasts are trying to regulate the wrong things.
The U.S. has 71 million unused H1N1 swine flu doses. Health officials say anyone who has not been vaccinated should still try, just in case.
I know that my doctor doesn’t have any idea what things cost. He had to ask two-three nurses how much a flu shot was. How basic is that!
Cookies: I tend to minimize the caloric count of all baked goods that I eat. It’s safer that way.
Of course patients and doctors do not know the cost of anything. They have no incentive to know.
Patients don’t know (or care) about the price of most medical services they receive because they are generally not the ones paying the bill.
Doctors don’t know the price of the services they provide because (most of the time) they are not competing on price. Furthermore, if you ask your physician about the price of a given service, he or she will inform you that there is not one price, but many prices. There’s one price for uninsured patients who do not negotiate a lower price in advance of receiving care. There’s another price for cash-paying patients who negotiate a lower price (and pay) in advance of receiving care. There are other prices depending on your health plan; your employer group; and whether you are in-network or out-of-network.
What to do with extra swine flu vaccines? Why not give multiple doses to members of Congress?