CNNMoney:
… Dropping insurance plans was the next thing to consider, and it was a gut wrencher. I take care of 3 generations of many families. It’s horrible to tell some of these folks - my patients for years - that they have no coverage for my care. I have stayed on with some of these plans. The worst actually pay me less for surgical procedures than my plumber charges me to fix a toilet.
For 8 years, I’ve used a computerized billing system that lets me see what HMO participation costs, to the penny. For the same amount of money, would I rather operate on 10 cheap-HMO patients or 1 private-pay patient? I continue to treat quite a few poor patients for free. My wife, who helps manage my office practice, can be quite unenthusiastic about the freebies. They are every bit as demanding as paying patients, calling me at home at night and on weekends, and they can still sue for malpractice.
There really is no formula for being both a great doctor and a great businessman. I simply try to be conscious with each decision I make of what I am doing for my own benefit and what I am doing for my patient’s. I still meet young doctors-in-training who give themselves completely and responsibly to patient care, and that gives me hope that great medicine will survive until the day when my hip needs to be replaced.
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