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I believe that health care is a human right. This does not mean that every person must have precisely the same level of health care coverage. This is not how our society works. Wealthy individuals can afford higher-level medical care, just as they enjoy higher-level housing, vacations, legal and financial advice, education, automobiles, and clothing. This list could be longer, of course. But every American, in my view, is entitled to decent medical care to prevent and treat disease. We have millions of individuals in the country who are not citizens, many of whom have no medical insurance. In a perfect world, I would like them to have access to medical care along with all other members of the human family. I recognize, however, that this situation in the U.S. has thorny political, social, and economic dimensions. Alas, the world is not perfect.
When I was in private practice, we saw patients who were
underinsured and uninsured. We were
happy to see these patients, many of whom were working hard at their jobs but
simply could not afford medical coverage.
These folks had to make difficult decisions as they balanced their priorities
with their available resources. Our staff would work with these patients to devise
a payment plan that they were comfortable with.
Naturally, we were reimbursed less from these patients than from those
who carried traditional insurance. But
we didn’t care and were happy to serve them.
And we reliably received a generous measure of appreciation from them. This was truly such a small sacrifice on our
part and was a huge gain for others.
Now, as an employed physician, I am no longer in a position to
personally discount my fees to accommodate patients in need. I miss this experience.
As readers know, I love my current employed position, particularly in
the autumn of my career. But there are advantages that a private physician enjoys that are simply not present in an employed model. Extending a personal hand to a patient in financial need is one of them.
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