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I wholeheartedly agree that the oncologists deserve a lot of praise/gratitude for their work. That gratitude is precisely the reason why I disagree with the lat

by dfc 13y ago

I wholeheartedly agree that the oncologists deserve a lot of praise/gratitude for their work. That gratitude is precisely the reason why I disagree with the latter half of your statement. I think it is unfair to to suggest that they would have accepted a monetary loss. Nobody visits an oncology specialist because life is wonderful. Every patient is somebody's mother, brother or spouse and every patient is facing an uphill battle. Doctors deserve a paycheck to feed their families and pay off medical school debt just like everyone else.

jaggederest 13y ago
Of course they do. But if he'd only raised $30k, they'd have gone "Welp, not enough, guess you're just going to have to die"? I seriously doubt it. You're going to serve the patients you can serve and get the recompense you can - people without insurance are going to bring some losses, but you don't just let them die.
- dfc 13y ago
  " people without insurance are going to bring some losses, but you don't just let them die." Are you aware of the health insurance debate/disaster in the US? How long can doctors operate at a loss? I must say that you are very fortunate if you do not know someone who has died of cancer and was unable to see/pay every specialist they could fit in to their final months days. People die of cancer all the time wishing they had the money to see the ______ oncology specialist.
  - jaggederest 13y ago
    I've actually worked with health insurance billing. The way it works is that they bill ridiculously large amounts, which nobody without insurance can pay. They know this. The insurance companies negotiate it, other people pay what they can, and it all more or less works out in the end. I'd much, much prefer to see a single payer system. Seeing every specialist is different than being in treatment with a doctor and having them cut you off because you can't pay. It's very rare I hear of a doctor going "well it's a shame you can't afford to pay for this surgery" - nearly always they do it, bill it, and accept the losses. Hospitals recover less than 20% from people without insurance.
    - foobarbazqux 13y ago
      Do doctors make individual decisions about working pro bono, and does it come directly out of their paycheque, or does the hospital cover it for them?
      - refurb 13y ago
        Texas oncology is a private practice. The $50K most likely paid for all the non-labor costs of the treatment. The doctors were working for free; i.e. they weren't compensated for their time
      - jaggederest 13y ago
        It's basically up to the people involved, everything is so baroque and ad-hoc there's not much standardization besides with medicare/medicaid and even that makes my eyes water.
    - dfc 13y ago
      I have had two family friends pass away while being unable to afford follow up visits to a specialist in NYC. You mention that you have "worked with insurance billing" in the past tense, is it possible that things have changed?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

by dfc 13y ago

jaggederest 13y ago

Of course they do. But if he'd only raised $30k, they'd have gone "Welp, not enough, guess you're just going to have to die"? I seriously doubt it. You're going to serve the patients you can serve and get the recompense you can - people without insurance are going to bring some losses, but you don't just let them die.

dfc 13y ago
" people without insurance are going to bring some losses, but you don't just let them die." Are you aware of the health insurance debate/disaster in the US? How long can doctors operate at a loss? I must say that you are very fortunate if you do not know someone who has died of cancer and was unable to see/pay every specialist they could fit in to their final months days. People die of cancer all the time wishing they had the money to see the ______ oncology specialist.
- jaggederest 13y ago
  I've actually worked with health insurance billing. The way it works is that they bill ridiculously large amounts, which nobody without insurance can pay. They know this. The insurance companies negotiate it, other people pay what they can, and it all more or less works out in the end. I'd much, much prefer to see a single payer system. Seeing every specialist is different than being in treatment with a doctor and having them cut you off because you can't pay. It's very rare I hear of a doctor going "well it's a shame you can't afford to pay for this surgery" - nearly always they do it, bill it, and accept the losses. Hospitals recover less than 20% from people without insurance.
  - foobarbazqux 13y ago
    Do doctors make individual decisions about working pro bono, and does it come directly out of their paycheque, or does the hospital cover it for them?
    - refurb 13y ago
      Texas oncology is a private practice. The $50K most likely paid for all the non-labor costs of the treatment. The doctors were working for free; i.e. they weren't compensated for their time
    - jaggederest 13y ago
      It's basically up to the people involved, everything is so baroque and ad-hoc there's not much standardization besides with medicare/medicaid and even that makes my eyes water.
  - dfc 13y ago
    I have had two family friends pass away while being unable to afford follow up visits to a specialist in NYC. You mention that you have "worked with insurance billing" in the past tense, is it possible that things have changed?
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]