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Well, TIL something about private equity backed healthcare providers, at least the kind you work at. FWIW everything you're saying makes sense to me personally
by danans 7y ago
Well, TIL something about private equity backed healthcare providers, at least the kind you work at.
FWIW everything you're saying makes sense to me personally since I used to do medical billing more than 25 years ago, and I clearly remember how disastrously complex it was for seemingly no reason.
One of my first jobs was sitting in an office full of medical procedure face sheets, spending all day calling doctors offices to get billable diagnosis codes for procedures.
The question I have is whether the medical provider community is ready to stand up for single payer, if only on the rationale you explained. That would go a long way toward convincing segments of the public who do won't support it on human rights grounds alone, but might support it because it makes more business sense.
- burnte 7y agoIt's way worse than when you did it 25 years ago. The reason is the harder it is for us to bill insurers, the less they have to pay. We're only willing to spend so much money in order to get a certain amount. It also discourages patients from seeking care, which keeps costs down. Some doctors are, but not most. Doctors are bad business men, as are lawyers. It's part of their training, they spend years learning how to avoid risks for their patients and clients. Business is risk management, not risk avoidance. So most doctors just try to struggle along as best they can with the current environment rather than rocking the boat. Don't get me wrong, they're not struggling to pay the rent, but running a health care provider is not easy.