OT: Medicare efficiency:
With all due respect, Jbog, I spend countless hours of diagnostic interview time for referrals sent to me for dementia evaluation from private insurers, THEN have to spend time requesting authorization for the eval. with the insurance co., THEN have to get my secretary to ride the insurance co. (some of them at least) to get a response. For a procedure that costs the ins. co. about $600, we've billed an extra $125 to do the separate diagnostic, and on average, one hour of administrative time bewteen my clinic and the insurer to authorize the test.
NONE of this process occurs with medicare! I've fielded questions from many friends about my opinion about the public option. I am ALL for it. In fact, because I have an HSA and have spent upwards of $70,000 in premiums in the last 10 years (in addition to funding my HSA saving to the tune of $30,000) to cover my family and have never met my $6000 deductable, I will be looking into the public option myself.
Anecdotal evidence is the weakest form scientific rebuttal, but this is a topic that strikes a nerve at several levels.
regards,
aj
