Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

Why patients should pay doctors directly

39 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | November 25, 2012

There are distinct advantages for the patient who pays the primary care physician (PCP) directly: higher quality, lower cost and greater satisfaction. The fundamental problem in health care delivery today is a payment system that is highly dysfunctional leading to higher costs, lesser quality and reduced satisfaction. The core problem? The patient is no one’s customer. With employer-based insurance, the physician’s customer is the insurance company that sets the rates, defines the rules and accepts ...

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Control Medicare costs by asking the correct question

2 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | November 5, 2012

The Democrats and the Republican parties’ approaches to Medicare are quite different. Which approach is better? That is the wrong question. Or at least not the most important question. Instead we should consider what could be done now to actually improve patient care quality as a means to reducing costs. Is there a good solution to the Medicare issue? Setting aside either the Democrats’ approach to basically enact price controls by ...

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Democrats versus Republicans: Two different approaches to Medicare

5 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | October 21, 2012

The two party’s approaches are quite different. Politicians realize that Medicare will not be able to continue on its current track. Something has to change since the country will simply not be able to afford the inexorable growth and expenditures. But politicians do not like to take away entitlements so proposals generally are couched in vague terms and often with positions that are unrealistic. The Democrats’ plans are contained generally in ...

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Will Medicare as we know it persist or will it change?

2 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | October 16, 2012

Since the nomination of Congressman Paul Ryan as the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party, Medicare has become front and center in the political discussions. To understand the dialogue requires an understanding of Medicare, how it works, where the money comes from, how it is spent and why there is such concern for its future costs. Here is an overview. Medicare was designed in 1965 to serve as “major medical” ...

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Are insurance companies responsible for increasing health costs?

8 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | September 28, 2012

The insurance system for healthcare is perverse. The individual is not the customer of the healthcare company; in most cases it is the employer or the government (i.e., Medicare, Medicaid). They physician works for the insurer who determines for what and for how much the doctor is paid. But are the insurance companies the blame that is often placed on them for our current state of affairs? This system abrogates the ...

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The dramatic change in the causes of death

6 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | July 26, 2012

Most of us will not have the opportunity to just die of “old age” or to simply fall to sleep one night never to wake again. Most often, we develop an illness which causes our death. These have changed markedly over the years. For the pioneers, accidents, infections, childbirth were times and causes of great likelihood of death. A century ago, infections were the leading causes of death. Today, we ...

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You deserve superb integrative health care

6 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | July 13, 2012

Is it possible that health care can become more effective, more personalized, more attuned to real health and wellness in a manner that truly benefits the patient as a customer/client? The answer is “yes” but it will require understanding the dysfunction in the delivery system today, dealing with the growing shortage of primary care physicians and their non-sustainable business model, changing the insurance paradigm from prepaid medical care to (high deductible) ...

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Is rationing necessary to reduce health care costs?

8 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | June 21, 2012

Healthcare costs keep rising. Your insurance premiums go up, your deductible and co-pays go up, pharmacy benefits go down. Despite the high cost you get little time with your physician, insurance statements are complex beyond belief and “customer service” seems to be a foreign concept. To combat high costs we are often told that rationing will be necessary. Is that true? Why are costs so high in this very dysfunctional healthcare ...

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Reduce health costs by reducing waste

7 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | June 11, 2012

There is enormous waste in American healthcare delivery. One estimate is anywhere from 20% to nearly 50% of total expenditures are frankly unnecessary. What is this waste? Is it real? Could it be eliminated or at least reduced? How difficult would such a reduction be to achieve? And what would be the unintended consequences? Donald Berwick, the former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, along with Andrew Hackbarth ...

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Primary care does not need to be expensive

6 comments Stephen C. Schimpff, MD | June 4, 2012

Are you a frustrated patient because you get little time with your physician each visit? Are you a frustrated physician who would like to spend more time but can’t make it work financially? Here are some developing approaches. Reimbursement rates for primary care visits are low, so primary care physicians (PCPs) need to see many patients to cover office expenses. There are many ways that PCPs are using to escape the ...

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Stephen C. Schimpff, MD

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