3.) Increase capability of doctors - Raise the bar on requirements for becoming a medical doctor
One of the single biggest problems with training doctors is med school. Med school is hard as hell to get into. Now I'm not saying it's a cake walk after that, but it's really, really hard to completely flunk out of med school once you're in. I think med school needs to have the same qualification and standards to get in, however, I think that med students should be paid a stipend (don't ask me where the money would come from) instead of paying tuition. This eliminates the 'need' for medical programs to bump mediocre students along in order to keep funds going. That way, like grad school, if you're a hopeless case, they pat you on the head and you get booted if you can't keep a 3.0.[/QUOTE]
Wow. I didn't know about the 2nd part (i.e. hard to flunk out) I did flunk out of college (CS degree) back in the early days, but I did finally return and finish my degree. Good to know.
@Dave
How to fix it? I believe some of the other poster have already stated that we really need to fix the tort portion. The lawsuits are in the millions now and that can't be good for hospitals and insurance company.
I believe opening insurance across state line would be good competition. I don't know why this isn't the case in the first place. Of course this would be ALL medical procedure (cost wise) would have to be same across the board or at least similar for pay out purpose, but that should even out if a person can shop around for insurance.
I do believe that people should get a tax break when they are paying THEIR portion of the insurance.
@krisken - hehe armchair expert. Well, I don't know about you, but I have my share of medical expenses (not as high as some) but some of these charges are ridiculous in my book. I mean when I got the hospital (not emergency room) I get all kinds of charges by all kinds of doctor and at most I see the nurse. I never once get "Hi, I'm Doctor Jones." and yet I get charge by the doctor. What is up with that? Is him giving advice without seeing me really worth 800$?[/QUOTE]
The charge isn't by visit, necessarily, or just a doctor charge. Is this an inpatient or outpatient facility? What is the MRG (Medicare Reiumbursement Rate (don't ask me why it isn't MRR)), what was the condition? What was the procedure performed? Were there co morbid conditions? Something like being a long time smoker gets coded as an addiction.
It's really easy to say "Shit, my bill was high and they barely did anything!", but another entirely to know
why the bills are as high as they are.
Oh, and insurance companies shouldn't be for profit. It creates a conflict of loyalty for the company. The loyalty isn't to the customer, but to the share holders.