Make your doctor’s visit more like a vet visit

Earlier this year our dog was hit by a car and broke her hip, causing her to be in excruciating pain for weeks and taking a lot of painkillers. (She is fine and has recovered. Dragging around the entire park in our neighborhood Every day). While caring for her, I began to think that going to the doctor or dentist would be much more like going to the vet. In one very important way: Health Insurance Since it is unrelated, we are pretty clear about our options and, importantly, how much they cost. When we go to the doctor or dentist, the only cost we face is the deductible, and when it comes to medical treatment, we don’t know much about the menu of options and the cost of each option. We fixed our dog with stitches and medication, paid for it all at once, and now there are no additional bills, paperwork, or unpleasant surprises. insurance Companies we should be looking forward to.

No hassle. No hassle. No complicated paperwork. No uncertainty. Taking a dog to the vet was more like taking a car to the repair shop than going to the doctor. We went in, they told us the cost of our options, and we made our choices. On the other hand, since I only pay a small deductible out of pocket and the rest is taken care of by the insurance company, there isn’t much incentive to pay attention to the cost. The amount the insurance company pays for my eye and sleep clinic visits is a significant part of my actual compensation, but I don’t want to feel that way because it never shows up in my checking account. If people don’t get raises and increasingly expensive health benefits, do they feel like their real income is stagnant?

But isn’t that the case with medicine? human rights? The UN says so.– But declaring something a human right doesn’t change the fact that we can’t provide it without resources that we can’t use to produce other things. Of course, we can all think of ways in which other people waste it. their We spend money on frivolous nonsense. Still, we might as well look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we should spend $1,000 on airfare, hotels, and meals to march in Washington, D.C. Because we think the government should provide something for “free.” When we say something should be “free,” we are simply saying, “Someone else should pay for it.” Eliminating prices does not eliminate costs. It merely hides costs.

Also, the amount is Health Care People’s “needs” vary based on cost. For diabetics, there are not many alternatives to insulin, but for difficult cases, there are bad laws and alternative treatments. For many other minor ailments, there are many ways to treat them that do not involve a visit to the doctor or medication. For example, Economist Brian Kaplan recently determined a small reduction in mortality risk. The tetanus shot wasn’t worth the pain and suffering of the needle, so I decided not to get it, and it caused unnecessary controversy on Twitter. It’s one thing to think vaccines are harmful, and another to think vaccines for non-communicable diseases that kill two Americans a year are worthless. Earlier this week, one of my nephews got pricked by a thorn while visiting us. Did we call 911 and ask them to prepare an operating room? No, we got the tweezers out. It’s easy to “need” more medical care when someone else is paying for it.

The statement, “This is the price we pay for health equity and justice,” does not convince me. An ambulance carrying someone with a stomachache (or a thorn) cannot carry someone else at that time. Ambulances require resources. When you say “yes” to another ambulance, you say “no” to another fire truck. The appropriate choice is not clear at the price that makes the tradeoff clear.

Here’s how to take your dog to the vet: The market loves you. And your little dog.Life would be easier if going to the doctor was more like taking your dog to the vet.