call me gullible but

[docemesis]

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Are there any doctors in the US CURRENTLY being paid in chickens or other means of barter ? I'm thinking of the show Northern Exposure and that MJ Fox movie.

Any other urban myths that need busting ?

 

[Apollyon]

I know a doctor in Brooklyn who will not take cash payments because it's such a headache (he's reform Jewish, and he was talking about the orthodox who come in with handfuls of cash to pay their bills). Taking payment in kind (such as livestock) I believe would be fraught with peril, since you need to pay taxes on the value of the stuff (so, if you took goats and chickens, you'd have to pay with the money you don't have).

 

[TheThroat]

In a general sense, tons of business people use the barter system. A hypothetical situation: I am a doc and my friend owns a golf course. He calls me up every time his kid has an otitis media and I come over, look in the kid's ear, and give him some abx. In return, I get free golf.

But...paid in chickens? I don't think so.

 

[a_ditchdoc]

I have a friend that chose general practice in the mountains earlier in his career (Later switched to EM). Depending on the ability of his patients to pay, he would often barter. He told me that he would often peek out the window to see what kind of car they were driving, the number of kids riding along, and whether or not they were wearing good clothes/shoes/etc. If he felt they were really poor he would suggest an easier alternative to payment (usually based on the profession/hobbies of the parents). He would casually remark "I sure could use some firewood...do you know who I could contact to find some?" or "I sure would love to go hunting one day, I haven't been in years." Usually they would reply with "I just happen to cut firewood" or "I hunt all the time." Of course, the truth is that he usually did not need the firewood, and although he did enjoy the hunting trips occasionally, he primarily did it to preserve the dignity of some of his patients when they could not afford to pay.

So, while he does not do it any longer (that I am aware of), 15 years ago he did...

 

[mosche]

I have a friend that chose general practice in the mountains earlier in his career (Later switched to EM). Depending on the ability of his patients to pay, he would often barter. He told me that he would often peek out the window to see what kind of car they were driving, the number of kids riding along, and whether or not they were wearing good clothes/shoes/etc. If he felt they were really poor he would suggest an easier alternative to payment (usually based on the profession/hobbies of the parents). He would casually remark "I sure could use some firewood...do you know who I could contact to find some?" or "I sure would love to go hunting one day, I haven't been in years." Usually they would reply with "I just happen to cut firewood" or "I hunt all the time." Of course, the truth is that he usually did not need the firewood, and although he did enjoy the hunting trips occasionally, he primarily did it to preserve the dignity of some of his patients when they could not afford to pay.

So, while he does not do it any longer (that I am aware of), 15 years ago he did...

WOW! This may sound SCHMALTZY to some; but to me, this doctor seems like an actual human that was/is a real benefit to the medical profession,as well as life!

When I was young, we had a physician in my home town that worked out of a small office on the town square -- in the back of a drug store that was 120 years old. Anyway, he would see elderly patients, poor patients, and anyone else for that matter. Well he never charged more than $10.00 for anything (it was the 1980's; so it might have seemed more expensive). I remember how busy he always seemed, and now I know that he was busy because he was providing a huge service to many who otherwise could not have afforded healthcare. When he died in 1993, over 17,000 people attended his memorial. That was in a county that has a total population of 28,000 people.

 

[docB]

In a general sense, tons of business people use the barter system. A hypothetical situation: I am a doc and my friend owns a golf course. He calls me up every time his kid has an otitis media and I come over, look in the kid's ear, and give him some abx. In return, I get free golf.

But...paid in chickens? I don't think so.

There are a few significant problems with the barter system. Someone already mentioned that you are supposed to claim the value of whatever you get so you can pay taxes on it. That is absolutely true. You also can be thrown in jail, or at least lose your Medicare priviledges, if you are bartering and charging those people less than you would charge Medicare. That's the reason that we're no longer supposed to give professional courtesy, it is Medicare fraud. I suppose if you made sure that you were bartering for payments that were equal to what your Medicare pts get charged you could do it but that would be pretty tough.

 

[TheThroat]

The laws be what they may be, I know that professional courtesy is still alive and well in the real world. I doubt that everyone is claiming what they are given in the barter system as taxable income as well.