2 ms·

I'd like to see a new regulatory regime that allows individual health care providers like doctors, nurses, etc to start their own practices that are cash only.

I'd like to see a new regulatory regime that allows individual health care providers like doctors, nurses, etc to start their own practices that are cash only. The sense I get is that small strappy businesses like that can't start because of the regulatory regime that's too expensive to comply with. But yeah in the end all of this machinery that gets between the patient and the provider and affects that relationship negatively needs to be done away with.

meepmorp 3y ago
> I'd like to see a new regulatory regime that allows individual health care providers like doctors, nurses, etc to start their own practices that are cash only. We already have that. Medical practices aren't required to take health insurance and can charge cash for services.
- Volundr 3y ago
  Specifically, Googling "Direct Primary Care" in your area will probably find you what you are looking for. Specialists who work this way also exist, but are rarer (and significantly more expensive)
prirun 3y ago
> I'd like to see a new regulatory regime that allows individual health care providers like doctors, nurses, etc to start their own practices that are cash only. This is a non-starter because older people with Medicare coverage - the people who get sick more often - would have to pay their Medicare premium, supplement premium, and the cash price. In principle, I agree with you, sort of. Going to an immediate care center in my town for example costs $100 if you pay cash, but if you have insurance, they bill $300 and the insurance pays $100-150 (the rest gets written off). My suspicion, but I don't know this for sure, is that when a hospital bills say $1000 and the insurance pays $300, the hospital gets to take the $700 difference as a loss, ie, it lowers their taxes. So in this case instead of having to pay income taxes on $300, the hospital gets a tax deduction for $400. Anyone know if that is the case?

meepmorp 3y ago

> I'd like to see a new regulatory regime that allows individual health care providers like doctors, nurses, etc to start their own practices that are cash only. We already have that. Medical practices aren't required to take health insurance and can charge cash for services.

Volundr 3y ago
Specifically, Googling "Direct Primary Care" in your area will probably find you what you are looking for. Specialists who work this way also exist, but are rarer (and significantly more expensive)

prirun 3y ago

> I'd like to see a new regulatory regime that allows individual health care providers like doctors, nurses, etc to start their own practices that are cash only. This is a non-starter because older people with Medicare coverage - the people who get sick more often - would have to pay their Medicare premium, supplement premium, and the cash price. In principle, I agree with you, sort of. Going to an immediate care center in my town for example costs $100 if you pay cash, but if you have insurance, they bill $300 and the insurance pays $100-150 (the rest gets written off). My suspicion, but I don't know this for sure, is that when a hospital bills say $1000 and the insurance pays $300, the hospital gets to take the $700 difference as a loss, ie, it lowers their taxes. So in this case instead of having to pay income taxes on $300, the hospital gets a tax deduction for $400. Anyone know if that is the case?