Connecting The Dots of Healthcare

I watched the news last night and was surprised to discover the writer’s strike, (that I did hear about a few weeks ago), is still continuing. Some programs, the report announced, had been cancelled and “classic programs,” (euphemistic for ‘re-runs’), were to be aired.

Although I really was surprised to find the strike continued, I was absolutely AMAZED that it has had little, no … ZERO, impact in my life.

Strike away!

I watch so little TV, (generally I prefer a movie), that it didn’t matter. Most of my news comes from the internet. Even when a movie is available on the TV, I prefer to rent it. No commercials. Don’t even need a Tivo to skip through commercials. “But how do you watch things like ‘The Office’,” my friends say?

Easy… you can rent a whole season at Blockbuster’s. If you want to spend a whole evening in front of the TV, you can see an entire season, commercial free, at once.

“But what about movies… if the screenwriters go on strike they won’t make movies anymore,” friends counter.

“Have you seen a video store recently?” I ask. “Do you really think we will run out of movies to see anytime soon?”

Let ‘em strike. They want more money? Let ‘em strike. They want royalties from video’s? (I think they deserve royalties from this spin-off… only seems fair.) Let ‘em strike. Cause things will perk along just fine. It’s not like someone is bleeding.

Hey, but there’s a thought. If healthcare continues to struggle with rising malpractice costs and doctors continue to leave medicine in record numbers, could a strike be the solution? But we’re not the “striking” types. We subscribe to a covenant, not a “contract” in healthcare. It’s why our patients are “patients” and not “clients.” But when things get so frustrating, we retire early, or find something else to do, or simply MOVE to a state with better prospects.

I was speaking in Ohio a few years ago. A small town once had five, count ‘em, FIVE, general surgeons. Because primarily of rising malpractice coverage expenses, three moved. One of the remaining two had been planning to retire, but stayed on… but not indefinitely. The other surgeon who had not moved, and wasn’t planning on a retirement, was planning to stay on.

Stay on call, solo call, for HOW LONG?

The most recent of the three surgeons who moved to another state to practice left because his ACCOUNTANT told him he had to.

Here’s the deal. Malpractice coverage comes in two varieties. One, like in South Carolina, covers you for any claims made long after you retire or stop practicing based on the premiums you’ve paid over time. But the other variety, like in Ohio, is different. When you retire, you’ve got to buy a “tail” to cover you against any future claims. Well, like all malpractice premiums, the cost of the “tail” has also been rising. Rising to the degree that this one doctor’s accountant told him that if he didn’t move soon, he’d never be able to afford to pay the “tail” fee.

Let’s say you live in this town in Ohio. And YOU’RE bleeding. And you don’t have five surgeons who could care for you. Maybe you’re down to one… and he’s tied up. Or maybe, just maybe, he got tired of practicing solo in a town that once had five, count ‘em, FIVE general surgeons, and he’s moved across the line to West Virginia to practice.

Now someone IS bleeding.

Now I like the Tonight Show as much as anyone else. But if I see a re-run, it’s not the end of the world. Because I’m not bleeding.

But if you ARE bleeding, and can’t get the medical care you need… it really could be the end of the world for YOU!