Televangelist Pat Robertson on Monday explained to his viewers that “sophisticated” Americans received less miracles because they had learned “things that says God isn’t real” like evolution. On Monday’s episode of CBN’s The 700 Club, Robertson responded to a…
Covered at Reason 24/7: Doctors Turn to Cash Business To Escape Red Tape
Despite much talk about a very real —
and growing ;— problem with access to primary-care physicians
as older doctors leave the profession and the ranks of new
providers thin out, there’s still hope for Americans who don’t want
to wait in line for medical care. There’s hope, that is, for people
willing to pay cash on the barrelhead for services rendered. That’s
because the numbers of doctors refusing third-party payment and
insisting on dealing directly with their patients as customers is
steadily growing. The change not only frees doctors and patients
from bureaucracy, it reduces much of the pressure driving increases
in healthcare costs.
From
Forbes:
Obamacare’s most intrusive changes to the healthcare marketplace
— including the individual mandate whereby Americans must secure
health insurance or pay a fine and its massive expansion of
Medicaid — are less than a year from taking effect.
Many doctors have decided that they’re not interested in seeing
how those changes play out in their own practices. Nearly
two-thirds of doctors say that they or their colleagues will retire
earlier than planned over the next few years, according to a survey
conducted by consulting firm Deloitte.
Others are considering a departure from the current system of
third-party payment. Instead, they’re exploring direct payment,
with patients paying for care on their own.
Patients should welcome this development. Not only does the move
toward direct payment have the potential to reduce health costs —
it could also yield higher-quality care.
Even before Obamacare, direct-pay practices were growing in
popularity. According to the Center for Studying Health System
Change, direct-payment practices increased from 9.2 percent of the
market in 2001 to 12.4 percent by 2008.
Nearly 7 percent of doctors say they are planning to change to
some form of direct-pay care in the next three years, according to
a survey of 13,000 doctors done for the Physicians Foundation. The
consulting firm Accenture projects that one in three doctors in
independent practice will adopt “subscription-based care
models.”
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readers please let us know by emailing the 24/7 crew at
24_7@reason.com, or tweet us stories at ;@reason247. … Read More
I-77 reopens after deadly pileup
GALAX, Va. (AP) — Interstate 77 near the Virginia-North Carolina reopened early Monday following a series of chain-reaction wrecks involving nearly 100 vehicles along a mountainous, foggy stretch of the highway, killing three people and injured 25 others.Virginia State Police determined 95 vehicles wrecked in 17 separate crashes within a mile span near the base of Fancy Gap Mountain, spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. The crashes began around 1:15 p.m. Sunday when there was heavy fog in the area.”This mountain is notorious for fog banks. They have advance signs warning people. But the problem is, people are seeing well and suddenly they’re in a fog bank,” said Glen Sage of the American Red Cross office in the town of Galax.Since 1997, there have been at least six such pileups on the mountain but Sunday’s crash was the most deadly, according to The Roanoke Times. Two people died in crashes involving dozens of vehicles in both 2000 and 2010.State police said traffic along the interstate in southwest Virginia backed up for about 8 miles in the southbound lanes after the accidents. Authorities closed the northbound lanes so that fire trucks, ambulances and police could get to the wrecked vehicles.Continue Reading… … Read More
Truth Is Offensive
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the prophetess who no one believed despite her 100 percent record of being right. Telling the truth to Americans or to Europeans is just as expensive as telling the truth to the Greeks in ancient mythology. … Read More
5 of 10 Top Economies in the World Drop the Dollar
The U.S Dollar is quickly losing its status as the world reserve currency. Five of the top ten economies in the world, plus a few others, no longer use the dollar as an intermediary currency for trade. This trend poses a huge risk to the dollar and the United States along with it. … Read More
Agenda 21: Smart Growth & Stealth Zoning
Are you ready to give up everything you’ve worked for all your lives? It will be too late when you are marched off to the FEMA camps. Either you put forth some effort now, just as our founders did then, or you’re just as guilty as the perpetrators. … Read More
Must-see morning clip: Sudanese refugee says Americans take freedom for granted
When “60 Minutes’” Bob Simon asks Sudanese refugee Abraham Yel Nhial, “What do you like most about America?” his answer is immediate: “Freedom.”"Americans take things for granted, but the freedom we have here–it’s what the whole world wants to have,” says Nhial.Continue Reading… … Read More
