Clinton, Obama or McCain on Health Care? Your Choice - Literally!

The universal health care proposals from Hillary Clinton and her current nemesis, Barack Obama have a decidedly big-government focus. I have ranted endlessly on the disaster that Medicare has become and the expansion of that disaster in the form of universal health care funded through tax dollars. People always spend less money when they are spending their own. In my practice pateints pay cash for the services we provide unless they are given a charitable "gift" because of special circumstances. I only see patients that are willing to spend their own money for treatment. That puts significant pressure on me to perform to the patient's satisfaction. The patient is in charge of the process and makes choices based on discussion of the merits and expense of each option. When I used to work in the emergency department there was never a discussion of payment except in the rarest of circumstances (mostly just venting about high prices). Both systems can be viable but the patient-centered approach will invariably provide greater satisfaction for all parties in the transaction.