Is cash-only medicine the wave of the future?

[ringmastery]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=541&ncid=541&e=1&u=/ap/20040404/ap_on_he_me/cash_only_doctors_1

RENTON, Wash. - When Chuck O'Brien visits his doctor, they talk about his aches and pains, his heart problems and his diet, but never about his health insurance.

That's because his doctor only accepts cash.

Dr. Vern Cherewatenko is one of a small but growing number of physicians across the country who are dumping complicated insurance contracts in favor of simple cash payments.

When O'Brien leaves the exam room, he writes a check for $50 and he's done — no forms, no ID numbers, no copayments.

"This is traditional medicine. This is what America was like 30 years ago," said O'Brien, 55 and self-employed, who believes he has saved thousands of dollars by dropping his expensive insurance policy and paying cash. "It's a whole world of difference."

[SoCalDem]

1. It may come to that..

When my boys were little, I would take all three of them to the pediatrician together, and no matter what he did, I would pay a flat rate when I left the office.. Usually around $25.00.. If they got shots, I paid a bit more.. He gave me med samples if they needed meds..

We did have insurance, but it was the old-style.. We had the doctor receipts and med receipts, and when they added up to our deductible, we stapled them to a form, and mailed them in.. a few weeks later we got a check for 80% of what we had spent over the deductible.. You could wait until the year was over, and get a big check, or you could send them in as you got them and they would keep track for you..

The only rub happens when the hospital is involved...


Some doctors are even offering a yearly service contract, for "unlimited visits"..

Doctors may have to get creative..