of course he did... probably at 94% cost share.....
Uninsured Rate Drops To Lowest Level Since The '90s
of course he did... probably at 94% cost share.....
The first two that came to my mind were the United Mine Workers of America and the printers for Belo. Maybe Consolidated Container. They all had copays at $2.50 or $5.
- 10,805
Im sure it probably was. It blew my mind at the time but I thought of that the next day.
Making it that cheap for people to go to the doctor will just turn into another unintended consequence of over utilization.
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IMO, the over utilization is temporary, and actually a good sign. The barrier to getting care has been removed, and people are far more likely to utilize care even when the situation isn't dire.
This will go a long way towards getting out of the "fix my problem" mentality to a "prevent a problem" mentality that's crucial towards improving the overall health of our nation (which clearly is not in line with our spending).
I'm sure there are those who will go to the doctor for almost anything, but I can't see it being a widespread thing. I mean who really likes to go and sit at the doctors office waiting to be seen? Appointments are mere suggestions. I don't think I've ever been seen at my appointment time. It's always 15-30 minutes late. And then I get to sit in the actual room another 15-30 minutes before the doctor actually comes in. My time is too valuable to waste sitting in a doctor's office.
I met my max out of pocket by June of last year (outpatient surgery). I think I went to the doctor two more times the rest of the year and that's only because I have to see my rheumatologist every three months. If it weren't for that I wouldn't have gone to the doctor at all. Point being, after June I paid ZERO for all care. No copayment for doc visits, medications, etc. And I had no desire to over utilize care.
In general I agree with your conclusion, Scott, but if you look at claim data once copay's were introduced there is a different side of the story.
Back before you were born doctor visits and Rx was not reimbursed until you hit your annual deductible. Once copay's were introduced claims started to rise mostly because of increased utilization. Underlying costs (especially for Rx) increased dramatically with copay's.
I was a carrier rep for Penn Mutual years ago when they introduced Rx copay's. Total Rx claims jumped 18% in one year after Rx copay's were implemented and never looked back. Also the underlying cost of med's increased to meet the demand.
Before Rx copay's people would go to the doc and get a prescription. Quite a few were never filled. Rather than going from the doc to the pharmacy, many would wait and see if they were still feeling bad a few days later. If so, they would fill it. If not, the Rx was thrown away.
Now some people fill their Rx right away but never finish the bottle. Once they start to feel better they stop the medication.
Back before you were born doctor visits and Rx was not reimbursed until you hit your annual deductible. Once copay's were introduced claims started to rise mostly because of increased utilization. Underlying costs (especially for Rx) increased dramatically with copay's.
I was a carrier rep for Penn Mutual years ago when they introduced Rx copay's. Total Rx claims jumped 18% in one year after Rx copay's were implemented and never looked back. Also the underlying cost of med's increased to meet the demand.
Before Rx copay's people would go to the doc and get a prescription. Quite a few were never filled. Rather than going from the doc to the pharmacy, many would wait and see if they were still feeling bad a few days later. If so, they would fill it. If not, the Rx was thrown away.
Now some people fill their Rx right away but never finish the bottle. Once they start to feel better they stop the medication.
- 10,805
The biggest flaw in your logic is that you assume everyone else is normal like you are.... lol
I have a few doctors as clients and they say that the ones who visit the most are the ones with the lowest co-pays. And it has been like that for years they say. It is nothing new, and as Bob pointed out there are mounds of statistics to back up their statements.
I asked one last year about the subsidized co-pays and I got a 10 minute dissertation about overutilization and patients driving up costs over nothing more than a runny nose or a common headache.
People who are on subsidized co-pays do not see their time as "valuable" like you and I do....
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Considering I started my post with:
I'm sure there are those who will go to the doctor for almost anything
I'd say I didn't assume everyone else is normal (thank you for calling me normal) like me.
You've got some highly involved doctors then. Most doctors I speak with are clueless as to what a persons copay is or even who their carrier is and what their reimbursement rate is.
It's such a wonderful thing that the number of uninsured may have decreased. That's something that I wished for my whole life, and now it's come true.
You set the bar pretty low. Glad you got your wish.
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