Tracy Press

One Tracy resident says health care is the biggest legal scam around.

EDITOR,

When I read the letter about the medical industry (Al Galaviz’s "Medical meltdown is the next big thing," April 23), it really got me going.

I totally agree, but I would like to take it even further. I think the medical industry is the most corrupt of the legal businesses in our country, and the fact that the fees are out of proportion with the rest of the economy is just part of it.

At a routine appointment, you might see the actual doctor for 10 minutes. During that time, he or she will ask questions and write things down. Then he will write several prescriptions for drugs that have very little, if any, positive results. The fee is probably $300 or $400, and that doesn’t even include the $100 or more for the prescriptions.

If the problem isn’t solved, you’re told to go back so you can go through the whole thing again, at the same price.

In my business, if I charged someone $400 to fix something and it wasn’t fixed, I would be going back for free to do it again. Doctors don’t have to guarantee their work.

For much of my life, I have been self-employed, with no medical insurance. But there was a time when I did have coverage. Once I had to take my son to the emergency room for an asthma attack. After about an hour, his breathing was back to normal, but the doctor wouldn’t release him. They kept him in an intensive care unit for three days, at a cost to my insurance provider of $10,000 a day.

The whole time, my son kept saying, "I’m fine. Let me go home."

I’m sure that if I hadn’t had insurance, this wouldn’t have happened. Isn’t that called insurance fraud?

Why do doctors have the authority to hold someone captive while they reap the profits?

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written by Mark Davis , April 30, 2008

There is some truth to the general claim that there is a perverse incentive to provide unnecessary care, test and evaluation the way the system is currently designed. Anyone who has gone to their PCP more than once has likely encountered the drug reps who vend special privileges/Las Vegas/Napa "conferences" to promote their products. There is a tension, of course, between the 900M$USD to bring a drug to market and the pursuit of earnest medicine but, we must ask, is a profit-driven system capable of erring on the side of science and caution?

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written by Huh? , April 30, 2008

Had they released your son and he died, you would of sued them. Unlike a plumber, Doctors cannot guarantee their work because the human body is too complex. In addition, they cannot be sure that the patient will follow their instructions after they leave the office.

BTW, in this business of yours did you have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in educational expenses or did you just have to pay a business lisence fee?

If you do not like the kind of medical service you are getting, you are absolutely free to BECOME A DOCTOR YOURSELF!

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written by B-dub , April 30, 2008

I have never been charged $300 or $400 for an office visit and I think the medical "profession" is a lot different than your run-of-the-mill businesses. These professionals are dealing with your health, your life. I think they deserve a little more respect than you or Galaviz are giving them. I trust my doctors decisions. Maybe that's the difference between your attitude towards the medical profession and mine.

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written by maybenotdumBcommenT , April 30, 2008

I don't know what you do Scott, but you're not the professional here. Your son was ill. Would you chance taking him home to soon.

It is actually the other way around. They are making surgery where you don't have to stay overnight for like we use to. Can't even take an extra day off. I had my gallbladder taken out and I went home in 4 or 5 hours from beginning to end, feeling better then ever.

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written by BernieS , April 30, 2008

Dear Scott, (and to all commentators)

I would like to share some information on our health care system today. First the United States health care currently is ranked number 37th in the world today according to a WHO(World Health Organization)report. We average one doctor per 1230 residents and we spend about $6100 per capita according to an ABC news report. There is an estimated 47 million Americans uninsured and according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academics estimates that about 18,000 Americans die every year because they cannot afford to pay for diagnosis, treatment and cure. (about 1,500 a month)According to a Harvard School Public Health Physicians report, put the number of deaths due to medical malpractice in hospitals, excluding emergency rooms, at 80,000 a year. We as concerned citizens reserve the right to take a hard look at these figures and the revenue that insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry makes to create a better health care system designed to treat and care for our citizens. We, as concerned citizens can create a better health care system for our children. We should be number one or at least in the top 10 of the WHO list of health care systems in the world.