more doctors are returning to a cash-only payment plan

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The next revolution in healthcare may seem like a return to

a simpler time.

Remember cash? People used to use it instead of plastic. And

doctors used to accept it instead of insurance plans. Now

something is afoot that might change medical care as we know

it.

According to a recent Associated Press (AP) report, more and

more doctors are returning to a cash-only payment plan.

The report features Dr. Vern Cherewatenko, a Seattle MD who

switched from insurance plans to cash about six years ago.

He charges a flat rate of $50 for each visit. Before he

changed to the cash system, he charged almost $80 for a

visit. From that he would receive just over $40 from the

insurance company, but the processing of the insurance

paperwork was costing about $20 per visit.

But now that Dr. C. has gone the way of cash, his current

accounts receivable is zero. And with all the headaches of

dealing with insurance providers out of the way, he says he

feels like a real doctor again.

This system is good for patients too. To start with, it

provides an economical way to access healthcare for those

who don't have insurance. But more important is the fact

that doctors don't have to overload their schedules with

patients in order to meet their operating costs. The result:

Doctors can spend more time with each individual patient.

Could this trend catch on? If Dr. Cherewatenko has his way

it will. He's started an organization called SimpleCare to

help encourage cash-only healthcare. Using the SimpleCare

web site (simplecare.com) patients can locate cash-only

doctors, and doctors can find out more about how to convert

to the new system.

Arthur Caplan - a medical ethicist - told AP that this trend

is a " terrible indictment " of the current healthcare system,

which he describes as " collapsing " under the weight of

insurance and managed care bureaucratic paperwork.

There's revolution in the air.

To Your Good Health,

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