When a Medical student is in the "intern" phase, he/she has to pay to work long hours to a hospital who turns around and CHARGES patients for the medicare that was given!
Should not these paying customers have the right to demand a FULLY licensed Doctor work on them?
and about the inturns, could not they be giving FREE care to the uninsured and poor? The inter is paying the hospital and that can cover the cost of supplies. I think this should help bring costs down, just manage what we have better.
Also, In my home state, EVERY lawyer must accept a certain amount of pro bono (free) work. Why cannot the doctors also be required a limited amout of walk-in work for free.
I know it soulnds a bit socialist, and I AM NOT THAT!
I can feed a homeless man, and I have, but I cannot treat their wounds or I would do so, at least part of the time.
or charge doctors $20 for a loaf of bread like hospitals charge $10 for ONE asprin! Use that $ to help the poor
2006-07-18 11:55:58 · 8 answers · asked by athorgarak 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
I should clarify:
It is my understanding that interns pay their schools and that a portion goes to the hospital.
2006-07-18 12:21:06 · update #1
Hey if that happened, doctors might have to take a pay cut. If that happens they may not be able to afford such a big house, such a nice car, or that membership in the local country club.
Thats just, un-american! sob.
2006-07-18 12:00:55 · answer #1 · answered by jack f 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's an argument against that. It'd be nice if everyone who came to the hospital got a fully licensed doctor, but what happens one generation from now? All those fully licensed doctors had to learn somewhere, and plastic manequins and textbooks only show you so much. I'd rather have the doctor's license mean he has real experience.
Along with that, if fully licensed doctor's are reserved for those who can pay, while the interns are sent to the uninsured and the poor, that's just begging for a discrimination lawsuit, since you are in effect offering substandard care to a predefined class of people.
I agree with you that health care costs could be brought down, but only at the expense of the hospital's profits. The "costs" incurred by hospitals are a joke. They know they have us by the balls and there's nothing we can do about it. You wanna live? Ok, then you give me $10 for that aspirin. You want work as a doctor? You pay me for your internship, or all those years of schooling were a waste of money. They can do whatever they want to us, and no matter how loudly we complain, they have the power. I'm not sure there's any way out of it.
2006-07-18 12:06:13 · answer #2 · answered by Tim 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's an easy question!! It is impossible for health care to be a free market industry ( with the exception optional stuff like plastic surgery). Can anyone say honestly if they were having a heart attack would they pick the cheapest hospital? or the best hospital. Its your life not a car or computer. This thought out leads us to pharmaceutical companies that make drugs the treat a problem and not fix it and hospital systems that aim to extend life instead of improving it. Why? Simple answer is profit, that $10 aspirin is that way because you can't get up and go buy a bottle elsewhere. And plus why would they want to lose customers.
Also private insurance companies have to pay shareholders and have administrative costs 12 -15 percent (Aetna is at 20%), while medicare and medicaid run on average 2%.
This industry as a whole (hospitals, drug companies,insurance) is under pressure each quarter to grow their earnings. If not CEO's and VP's start losing their jobs, just like every other company. That's the major reason for the cost of health care rising at twice the rate of inflation, and nothing else comes close.
This is not going to get better until America like all other industrialized countries views health care as a right and not a privilege.
2006-07-18 12:45:48 · answer #3 · answered by ceasar73 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All we need is capitalism in the medical industry. The recent (last 50 years or so) incredible rise in medical costs, directly correlates to government involvment in the medical industry.
Now we have a public that, thinks health insurance is something that should pay for even routine checkups. Not that long ago health insurance was simply for catastrophic stuff.
People only care about what they pay, if it is a 10$ copay, its all good. Even if the doctor charged 10$ for one pill, or 50$ for a service he didn't actually provide. When people start caring about the prices that are charged, competition will fix everything.
2006-07-18 12:03:16 · answer #4 · answered by tm_tech32 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Preventative health care is about the only thing we can control in order to cut our own health care costs.
Interesting to know about the interns PAYING the hospital to work there, I didn't know that. Hmm....
2006-07-18 11:59:42 · answer #5 · answered by wondering in michigan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes.. it's insane... and people care about the hundreds of dollars they have to pay every month in insurance bills...
the problem is... medicine is a business now... often without competition... many places only have one hospital...
it's about how much money you can make... not how many people you save... profits over lives...
they charge what the market will bear... and you can't put a price on a life... you can't "not" have life saving surgery...
2006-07-18 12:10:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ill be making over $40 an hr my first year out of nursing school. Our pay goes higher every year as well.
2006-07-18 12:10:19 · answer #7 · answered by WHO_WHAT 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way to bring costs down is to get the greed (politicians) out of the equation.
2006-07-18 12:00:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋