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Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Doctors helping patients in financial straits with low-cost options and decreased prices

Financial hardships are making their way into medical clinics and hospitals, where some doctors are slashing prices and "helping the bills with the ills," Sandra G. Boodman reports for The Washington Post in a joint effort with Kaiser Health News.

Across the nation, medical care providers are facing an increasing number of patients unable to pay for care and the Medical Group Management Association, which represents 22,500 medical practices nationwide, reports sharp increases in patients who fail to keep appointments and decreases in preventive-care visits. Boodman writes that "Some doctors have responded by selectively cutting their fees or devising novel payment arrangements; others have taken a harder line on billing and are sending more overdue accounts to bill collectors." Many have encouraged patients to utilize lower cost options like medical clinics and pharmacy services at chain stores like Target and Wal-Mart.

Boodman reports that many doctors feel an obligation to patients who are suffering financial straits and are doing what they can to help. Some offer free tests and exams for those who recently lost health insurance, while others, like family physician H. Lee Adkins of Fort Myers, Fla., launch programs. To treat patrients with chronic illnesses, Adkins has begun a program that entitles patients to a basic package of services including more than a dozen office visits per year, simple lab tests and many vaccinations for only $75 per month. "That's the same amount people spend on a monthly cable bill," he told Boodman. (Read more)

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