This article suggests that the price-comparison tool on the Medicare web site will have Medicare beneficiaries questioning their doctors about their prescriptions:
The discovery that a competing brand-name drug or generic substitute is significantly less costly will likely convince some beneficiaries to ask their physicians about the appropriateness of a switch, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said at a briefing.“Nobody compares prices better than our seniors,” he remarked.
My take? I’m all for it. I highly encourage patients to empower themselves about their health care and medication decisions, and come to a shared decision with their physician.
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This isn’t really about medication but it is about medical care cost and I wonder if it is something being more widely considered in the medical field. I heard of a Dr. yesterday that has began charging a yearly flat rate of 500.00 per year, per patient….He does have an on site lab and that charge would cover all medical care from the Dr. including lab tests, x-rays, and anything that can be accomodated at his office. Will this work?
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