A Penny for Your Thoughts, Doc?

My last post looked at a new reimbursement model � well, maybe a �tweak� of the current model would be more accurate. In a recent New York Times item, Dr Thomas Gross suggests still another:

�The current medical reimbursement system pays by the job performed, not by the time spent�Your family doctor receives the same reimbursement for diagnosing a sinus infection in 6 minutes as he does if he takes 30 minutes�In our current system, there is no way to buy an hour of your doctor's time just to talk.�

First, in fairness, one most likely COULD purchase an hour of the doc�s time; it would just be VERY expensive, and not a covered expense under one�s medical plan. But I see Dr Gross� real point, which is that medicine has become outcome-based, as opposed to health-based. And that this is at least partly a result of the current medical insurance system.

In previous posts, I discussed Consumer Driven Health Care (CDHC). The primary goal of CDHC is to empower patients/insureds in taking a more active role in their own health care. We talked about coupling catastrophic medical plans with tax-advantaged savings accounts.

But HDHP�s and HSA�s are not the only way to engage in CDHC (there, is THAT wonkish enough for you?). We�ll look at some alternatives next week.