Patients pay their insurance company to cover medical procedures. The insurance companies make money when the patients are healthy, and the patients don’t pay full value for the medical procedures they do need. Everyone wins. Inadequate Health Insurance Payments Not the doctors. Patients pay and insurance companies reimburse only for procedures provided. Doctors foot the
Not to date myself, but in the world of 21st century healthcare, Marcus Welby has left the building. Our healthcare experience has changed over the years, primarily for the better, but it is still changing in ways that many find hard to accept. Doctors are now providers, and patients have become consumers; medicine is no
FACT – Medicare fraud costs taxpayers roughly $60 billion a year. FACT – The government pays tens of million dollars annually to contractors to detect Medicare fraud. FACT – Whatever the health officials are doing in an attempt to stop Medicare fraud is not enough. Attempts to Stop Medicare Fraud A report, not yet issued
Just because someone said it, doesn’t make it true, especially in the realm of health tips. It’s unsettling, especially in healthcare reporting, what people will say and what people will believe. It’s a 24-hour news cycle and the media is constantly looking for the next big headline. As a result, they aren’t always reporting the
First off, let me wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving! Things have certainly changed since the Pilgrims first gathered for that historic celebration. We’ve gone from horses to smart cars, candlelight to energy-efficient light bulbs and hitching-post stores to mega malls. Healthcare has been no stranger to change either. We’ve come a long
Electronic Health Records Electronic Health Records (EHR) are the new ‘water cooler’ topic for the medical community. With the Medicare EHR Incentive Program final date to register and attest for an incentive payment looming (Nov. 30), the conversations can only be increasing. There is no choice, providers, hospitals and all affiliated parties have to get
They say the only thing certain in life is death and taxes. That is true, but we like to believe other things are ‘certain’ too – like McDonalds will always have fries, the Labor Day MDA telethon will always have Jerry Lewis and hospitals will always have drugs. Well, I don’t know where Jerry went,
It happens every year. The ‘big’ open enrollment insurance benefit envelope arrives and you can’t help but feel you should be thinking a little harder about which plan to choose, but aren’t exactly sure what to ‘think’ about. You aren’t alone. Every year the family premium has gone up (usually around 9%), and this year,
You’ve read it, and signed that you’ve read it, but did you get it? Just what is HIPAA? HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a federal law to prevent abuses of your personal health information. Here’s the lowdown on what it’s all about. What is HIPAA? WHO? Under the HIPAA rules the
Becoming a doctor used to be tops on the career totem pole. If you were a physician you were part of a distinguished profession, inherent with the respect and dignity the lengthy education and responsibility deserved. That was then, this is now. Now a doctor is the ‘bad guy’ bringing in six figures, while the
REBECCA S BUSCH