In Nigeria, we have generally been taught to believe that out of pocket payments are archaic, and insurance is the best way to access healthcare. I was quite surprised to find out that a group of physicians in the United States were going back to a semblance of this “archaic” model, and I was interested in learning about what they were doing.
Health Insurance
Insurance-based Healthcare vs. Direct Primary Care: A Stark Contrast
“Recently, my medical school required students to attend an afternoon of group discussion on health care policy. Insurance companies, prior authorizations, prescription drug costs, and electronic medical records were some of the topics that kept coming up throughout the afternoon. The whole sentiment of the discussion was very discouraging, and I walked away with little optimism for the state of health care in America. I even began to question if practicing medicine was really what I wanted to do with my degree.” ~Autumn Haynes, OUHCOM
Turning 26 … and the joys of healthcare insurance shopping
I lost the battle, but I was determined to win the war. I still believed that there was an option out there that returned insurance to its rightful place as a hedge against catastrophic expenses. In addition, people deserve an insurance option that does not force them to subsidize healthcare practices that they find morally offensive. ~John Flo, BRI-SLU chapter founder and past-president
Almost All Americans Lack Health Insurance
From my article published in the Huffington Post 4/29/2013: How many Americans have proper health insurance? Most estimates in the news are that 50 million individuals — 15 percent of Americans — are without health insurance. But in fact, very few Americans have health insurance… because what people call health insurance really isn’t insurance at […]
Healthcare Insurance and other Third Party vendors: do they provide benefits, or cause problems?
“We should be suspicious about the truth of prices if we ask healthcare insurance and other third party vendors whose livelihood depends on high prices. But what if there were a scenario in which third parties were optional, and knew that they needed to provide value, or find another line of business?” ~John Flo, Saint Louis University School of Medicine