In Laredo, Texas, Dr. Gustavo Villarreal's family practice is always packed with patients who pay a flat $50 for a walk in or quick turn doctor's visit. Efforts at the state as well as the federal lever are underway to decrease Texas' ridiculously high rate of residents without health coverage. Nearly a third of the population lives below the poverty line. Dr. Villarreal does not accept health insurance but instead he has switched to a cash based model. Doctors who use this model say that they are able to keep costs down by simply avoiding the bureaucracy of the health insurance system and the high processing costs, which includes additional staff, that are associated with accepting coverage. This doctor regularly treats patients who have health insurance who are just trying to avoid the need of meeting high deductibles.
Analysis:
Some health care specialists worry that if too many practitioners choose this path the state could start struggling to find doctors to accommodate patients with insurance as the federal health care overhaul is making such coverage mandatory for most Texans. Only about 6 million of the population have enrolled in the federal insurance marketplace which is crucial to the success of the Affordable Care Act. Insurers are afraid that consumers are not anticipating their medical needs which will not protect them from unexpected medical expenses. I believe that there is nothing wrong with this method. If the population is too poor to afford the health care being pushed upon them then maybe it should be adjusted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/us/doctors-shun-insurance-offering-care-for-cash.html?ref=health&_r=0
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