08/05/2016    Robert Kornfeld, DPM

Time to Change Professions?

I was in a men's clothing store this past
weekend. When I went up to the register to pay
for my items, there was a man at the register
checking me out. I noticed he was wearing a
caduceus around his neck so I asked him about
it. He told me he was an internist who could
not bear to get up and go to work anymore.
Battles with insurance companies and Medicare
had worn him down. He now owns two shops
selling men's clothing. He said he has never
been happier. When someone wants something that
he sells, they MUST PAY for it BEFORE they
leave the store.

In essence, doctors who accept insurance are
selling their wares and then letting the buyer
walk out the door without paying. What's worse
is that the buyers feel entitled to walk out
the door (with armfuls of care) and not pay.

Perhaps it's time to think about the practice
of medicine as a retail business. You wouldn't
tolerate shoplifters in your store, would you?

I'm always taken aback when I speak to doctors
about running a cash practice and they say to
me, "My patients could never afford to pay me".
The ironic thing is that everywhere else your
patients go, they have to pay. Why is paying
doctors so taboo? It's only since the 1960s
that health insurance came on the scene. Before
that, believe it or not, patients paid for
services provided by doctors at the time of the
visit.

My advice is if you accept insurance and you
are struggling to pay your bills, either
consider the alternative of a cash practice or
else get into another line of business
altogether. Medicine is going to get much
worse, not better, for those who participate
with insurance and Medicare. Sorry, but that's
just the way it is.

Robert Kornfeld, DPM, Port Washington, NY

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