I did refinancing home mortgages for 15 years & doctors had the most debt & the worst credit over all. What do you have to say about that truth?

I am sure-knowing how lots of doctors think- that you all would not agree with what I said.

I stand on what I said in my original discussion of this issue. I don’t need an economic lecture or “I do this or that.”

To me-it’s a philosophical issue. I charge what patients can afford-period.

Be well, Bill Mangino, M.D.

As long as you are willing to state your charges, and charge for only what you do, then it is your privilege to charge what you like for your work. Keeping your charges in line with what some insurance company wants to reimburse is not required. I don’t owe it to anyone to limit what I charge, or to demand a higher charge than is commonly reimbursed if I think that is a fair rate to compensate me for my time, risk and materials.

How a doctor chooses to accept payment is his business. Cash is fine, so are credit cards. If you want to take Medicare and think that is fair compensation, then go ahead.
If not, then charge what you want.
This doctor was working on a cash-pay basis. Although his prices may have been high, as long as he was not charging for things he wasn’t doing, than that is his right. No one compelled his patients to go to his walk-in clinic, we can only assume they went there by their choice.

I don’t think anyone will guarantee this doctor riches from his practice; he will have to attract business in the way one has to in a market. At the same time, he does not have a moral obligation to toe the arbitrary price line set by Medicare or some insurance company
that has its own agenda in the medical market.

If you are going to ask and expect that patients pay cash you need to keep your services within the boundaries of the already established fee schedules for that procedure you perform.

Furthermore, if you do invasive procedures in your office, such as injections and surgical procedures, then you will have to lower your rates to adjust for what patients can reasonably afford. This may involve trusting them to pay you over time even when you factor in your discounts.

If you are busy you do not need to maximize profit. If you aren’t busy – don’t opt out.

Asking your patients to pay more than standard fee guidelines is inherently unfair to them, makes you look bad and probably will spell economic failure for your practice, in the long run – or even the short run.

Provide good care, charge equitable fees, be nice, be competent, be concerned and have fun enjoying your patients.

Credit cards are for Macy and Gimbel, not Doctor Kildaire.

His charges for minor surgical services are steep. Of course, the story is biased in that it does not say how much the patients were able to be reimbursed by their carriers. That is relevant to the whole story, if you are trying to make the case that his charges are truly excessive (Where does he get the $6,000+ for treating blood pressure and a puncture wound? He must be padding the account with lawyer charges and other “collections” costs.)

But if you go in to a cash-pay convenience-oriented urgent care center and throw down your credit card and act as if you don’t care what the charge is, and you don’t bother to ask, then you really can’t say you object on the grounds that you were charged more than quoted.

I would venture that many people who freely consume what their insurance company pays for with little more than a copay would be surprised at the costs of their consumption if it came on their dime, even at discounts typically enjoyed by insurance plans. Some might even be shocked.