Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity: New Health Care Mantra

Simplify, simplify.

Thoreau(1817-1862), Walden

KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)

American Idiom

In the wake of ObamaCare, the incredibly, unbelievably, and massively complex health law, a health care counterrevolution has surfaced – direct pay independent medical and surgical practices.

ObamaCare has ushered in a series of confusing uncertainties – whether you can keep your doctor or your health plan, how soon and when your health plan might be cancelled, how high will be premiums and deductibles in your old or new plan, if you will have to pay co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles before you see the doctor or enter the hospital, if you will be obligated to return your subsidies if your income or citizenship papers are not up to snuff, when those delayed penalties will kick in you or your employer are not covered, and in the greater world, how long ObamaCare will survive given its enduring unpopularity and uncertain political fortunes.

To complicate matters, surveys indicate 6 of the 10 Americans, particularly the uninsured, do not understand the language of health insurance, and 9 of 10 are unaware of new health exchanges start-up signups begins on November 15, 2014 and lasting until February 15, 2014.

Confusion and uncertainty stalk the health care land. Because of the two-headed confusion and uncertainty monster, a new form of medical practice has reared its head. It goes by the name of direct pay, independent practice, and its hallmarks are simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

• Simplicity in that you do pay directly without worry about co-pays, deductibles, or co-insurance. You simply pay your doctor or your ambulatory surgery center in cash, and the health care service or surgical procedure is provided on the spot. Furthermore, you know upfront, either by asking the doctor or consulting the practice website what your care will cost.

• Simplicity in that no insurance company or government program is involved. Your care in between you and your physician and surgeon. Between you decide what is necessary or appropriate. No delayed notices, no waiting for the bill, no collection agencies, no wading through a bureaucratic maze to see if you qualify for care, or if your procedure or test or treatment is “authorized” by powers-that-be-far-removed-from-the patient-physician evaluation-and-treatment-site.

• Simplicity in that your health care services are generally “bundled” – in a primary care office, most services will be offered for one fee, which may be under a monthly or annual retainer, which may include discounted fees from specialists to whom the primary care doctor refers; in ambulatory surgery center, the fees include the anesthesiology fee and the fee for the facility and the recovery room.

For more information, consult Google for concierge or ambulatory surgery centers in your area, or order Direct Pay Independent Practice – Medicine and Surgery, an E-Kindle book now available on Amazon.com.