Health insurers have an antitrust exemption in respect of coordinated gathering of data for ratemaking. The playing field isn’t particularly level. Physicians can’t share pricing information or collectively bargain for payment rates.
Tag: quality
Why the Hospital’s Idea of Physician Leader Means Follower
What those hospitals are really doing is training more physicians to become hospital-employed or hospital-controlled managers in order to monitor, cajole and threaten the members of the medical staff to follow mandated cost cutting measures.
Flying First Class Medical Care
We’ll begin boarding in a few minutes. Although airlines have a lot to learn about customer service, they do serve as a model for pricing strategy in healthcare. You’re on your way to Cleveland. The plane seats 300-plus people and everyone will get there at the same time. Yet passengers paid remarkably different prices to…
Opting Out to Opt in for Yourself
Some, a few, physicians had already opted out of the government system (Medicare) and out of the insurance system as well, going into “concierge” medicine. They were criticized as somehow being “less than” for not wanting to be a public utility. For not wanting to be sheep.