George Bush did a great thing

[Silera]

to Silera: HMOs are the least profitable of all members of the healthcare industry. The system discourages those buying the product (patients) from doing anything to keep costs down, and therefore doctor, hospital, and drug prices keep rising 10% a year. When people are in charge, that will be changed.

As far as I understand HMO's, they work under the premise that Doctors are required to agree to a set fee list in order to be participating physicians in the plan. They get a set amount from the HMO for every patient that elects said physician as their provider regardless of whether or not that patient ever visits the provider. So, the HMO is in effect doing the bargaining for the patient. The buying is done on a group basis, which should provide much more leverage than me myself and I telling my OB GYN that I don't feel like paying her $250 to finger me and give me a birth control subscription. (I could be using the term "HMO" loosely to cover the entire managed care/health insurance industry, so forgive me.)

The idea that someone could bargain down a doctor's rates is incredulous to me. If a doctor states that certain tests need to be performed, unless you feel like playing with your life, I don't see many people having the balls to say, nah, I don't think so doc, you're just trying to get more money out of me. The plan also expands on the current healthcare situation which dictates that your worth monetarily reflects the healthcare you receive.

If a doctor knows that patient x never bitches and always pays on time, and patient y is a jew that nickels and dimes him, which patient is going to get better care?