Do doctors get free health care?

[Dr Gerrard]

Everybody who I tell I am going to be a doctor get a stupid grin on their face and tell me thats good, because they are getting old...

Meaning, they expect me to give them free health care.

But do doctors even get health care for free?

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[buccsmf1]

no, docs have to pay for their own healthcare..... and no, you can't do procedures for fee.

shadowed a doc the other day and said his charge for the procedure was about $1000, but the price of the equipment and other expenditures was roughly $5000. So even if you're willing to forgo your own payment, most procedures are still incredibly expensive.

 

[Pedsbro]

Everybody who I tell I am going to be a doctor get a stupid grin on their face and tell me thats good, because they are getting old...

Meaning, they expect me to give them free health care.

But do doctors even get health care for free?

Depending on where you work (or rather who you work for). If you're in a group practice, your group generally buys insurance for its members. If you work for a hospital directly (hospitalist,etc), they provide it. If you're in business for yourself, then obviously you buy your own.


Depending on the situation, a doctor can waive their own fees. But a person/insurance would still have to pay for hospital/clinic overhead charges (staff, equipment, supplies, etc). I've worked in pathology for years and I've seen them waive their fees for an interpretation or second opinion, but we (the staff of the hospital) and the supplies we used still need to be compensated for. So very few things can be given away free completely to someone you know...in the case of doctors working for hospitals or contracting with them, it's often out of the doctor's hands anyway.

 

[LizzyM]

Back in the day before having a health insurance policy was common, doctors often gave each other "professional courtesy", meaning no doctor's bill for care for the physician, his wife & kids. If you were the most popular OB among physicians in town it meant that you delivered a lot of other docs' babies at no charge (of course there was still a hospital bill).

Once docs had health insurance, it seemed silly not to bill insurance and the insurance companies pretty much require you to make a reasonable effort to collect the deductable and co-pay. Furthermore, docs, who used to have relatively modest incomes (pre-1965) are well able to afford to pay their routine doctors' bills and it feels wrong to some/most physicians to treat them as charity cases.

 

[Dr Gerrard]

So basically, if I am lucky enough to make it that far, when I do become a doctor, the most I will even be able to do for these people is to maybe give them some advice over the phone, but very general advice, if I do not do Primary Care.

However, all of the expectations they have about getting free health care, which although they say it in a joking manner, I know they really mean it, will go unfulfilled.

Thanks.

 

[Lukkie]

Furthermore, docs, who used to have relatively modest incomes (pre-1965) are well able to afford to pay

...interesting.

 

[whimsical]

My parents, unluckily, are FMGs. So they didn't get healthcare through their workplaces for a long time. Most people get health insurance through the hospital or practice, though.

 

[nick_carraway]

I think you get pretty good hookups though. One time as an informal MA, I got a rash that was tracking up from my hand toward my chest. Two fellows saw it, declared it to be lymphangitis. The attending saw it and declared it to be dermatitis. Then they called down an infectious disease specialist who looked at it, couldn't decide what it was and drew a line on my arm and told me to page him if the rash spread past the line so he could admit me to the ER immediately.

Since there was some debate, I got a sample for topical steroids and for oral antibiotics to see which one actually worked before the biopsy came back.

One perk of the job is having an inside track in healthcare. Since it's already such a large issue in terms of access, I think being a physician will be helpful to my family in terms of getting to quality care even faster.

 

[LizzyM]

I think you get pretty good hookups though. One time as an informal MA, I got a rash that was tracking up from my hand toward my chest. Two fellows saw it, declared it to be lymphangitis. The attending saw it and declared it to be dermatitis. Then they called down an infectious disease specialist who looked at it, couldn't decide what it was and drew a line on my arm and told me to page him if the rash spread past the line so he could admit me to the ER immediately.

Since there was some debate, I got a sample for topical steroids and for oral antibiotics to see which one actually worked before the biopsy came back.

One perk of the job is having an inside track in healthcare. Since it's already such a large issue in terms of access, I think being a physician will be helpful to my family in terms of getting to quality care even faster.

Sadly, physicians' families often get the worst health care if they depend on the care provided by a family member. Sometimes, the family member doesn't wish to consider the worse case scenario and is slow to refer (like the doc in my neighborhood who treated his adult daughter for bronchitis for an entire winter before she got an x-ray & discovered she had a now incurable lung cancer). Some people are hesitant to tell the truth about exposure & risk factors when the care provider is also one's parent. One pediatrician filled out & signed his kids' annual school physicals without actually doing any exams. A college student was asked in student health if he was a transexual because the doctor who had completed his new student health form was a gynecologist. 😳 It was his dad.

 

[MossPoh]

The most professional courtesy you get now is lighter scheduling. I could call in nearly any day and get get an appointment. They'd make it work. When I was younger I had some chest pains that really freaked me out. My dad simply called up our friend, a cardiologist, and he came over and checked me out that night. Free? No. Even for something like that it was expected for my dad (a radiologist) to maybe rush a few studies or something.

 

[nick_carraway]

Sadly, physicians' families often get the worst health care if they depend on the care provided by a family member. Sometimes, the family member doesn't wish to consider the worse case scenario and is slow to refer (like the doc in my neighborhood who treated his adult daughter for bronchitis for an entire winter before she got an x-ray & discovered she had a now incurable lung cancer).

Ah that's a good point. I'll let my wife do all the worrying and decision making and I'll leave my veto powers at the door.

Internal checks & balances 😀

The most professional courtesy you get now is lighter scheduling. I could call in nearly any day and get get an appointment. They'd make it work.

Well said. I think this is how I should've worded it rather than saying family members will get better access.

 

[YouAreAwesome]

In Complications, Atul Gawande mentioned that doctors as a group are becoming less and less likely to offer care to friends/family due to malpractice issues.

 

[Dissected]

I think you get pretty good hookups though. One time as an informal MA, I got a rash that was tracking up from my hand toward my chest. Two fellows saw it, declared it to be lymphangitis. The attending saw it and declared it to be dermatitis. Then they called down an infectious disease specialist who looked at it, couldn't decide what it was and drew a line on my arm and told me to page him if the rash spread past the line so he could admit me to the ER immediately.

Since there was some debate, I got a sample for topical steroids and for oral antibiotics to see which one actually worked before the biopsy came back.

One perk of the job is having an inside track in healthcare. Since it's already such a large issue in terms of access, I think being a physician will be helpful to my family in terms of getting to quality care even faster.

So...did it spread?

 

[nick_carraway]

So...did it spread?

Nah it never got past the line despite spreading the length of my arm in about 8 hours. I'm still not sure what it was since the docs never got back to me with the results, but the steroids worked.

Happened to me again about a month ago (same arm), but it was a weekend so I just drew my own line around the edges to see if it would spread but luckily it didn't.

 

[Rendar5]

My FP still charges me copays and stuff for appointments. But, my opthalmologist actually waived my check-up copay and are providing me with contacts at cost. It was very nice of him. Of course it probably helps in that if ppl ask for optho referals, I know someone I trust, so it may even out anyway.

But yeah, you sometimes get inside tracks and curb-side consults on your self if you want. In th ED, if you have a connection, you may be able to get SIMPLE things done without putting them into the system (simple stuff, like reducing a nursemaid's elbow or doing a quick suture on a small lac). But that really depends.

 

[mvenus929]

The pediatrician I used to work for waived copays for doctor's kids. He had several of them in the practice, too...

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Back in the day before having a health insurance policy was common, doctors often gave each other "professional courtesy", meaning no doctor's bill for care for the physician, his wife & kids. If you were the most popular OB among physicians in town it meant that you delivered a lot of other docs' babies at no charge (of course there was still a hospital bill).

Once docs had health insurance, it seemed silly not to bill insurance and the insurance companies pretty much require you to make a reasonable effort to collect the deductable and co-pay. Furthermore, docs, who used to have relatively modest incomes (pre-1965) are well able to afford to pay their routine doctors' bills and it feels wrong to some/most physicians to treat them as charity cases.

I shadowed a doc that still refused to bill other docs or their families. He said that he has worked in the hospital too long for anyone to try and stop him.

 

[FIREitUP]

Sadly, physicians' families often get the worst health care if they depend on the care provided by a family member. Sometimes, the family member doesn't wish to consider the worse case scenario and is slow to refer (like the doc in my neighborhood who treated his adult daughter for bronchitis for an entire winter before she got an x-ray & discovered she had a now incurable lung cancer). Some people are hesitant to tell the truth about exposure & risk factors when the care provider is also one's parent. One pediatrician filled out & signed his kids' annual school physicals without actually doing any exams. A college student was asked in student health if he was a transexual because the doctor who had completed his new student health form was a gynecologist. 😳 It was his dad.

i think it could go both ways. my father, as a doctor assumes the worst case scenario and is especially cautious when treating family. i think with all the experience he has when anyone in his family is exhibiting ambiguous symptoms he knows not to mess around.

 

[PremedIowa]

i think it could go both ways. my father, as a doctor assumes the worst case scenario and is especially cautious when treating family. i think with all the experience he has when anyone in his family is exhibiting ambiguous symptoms he knows not to mess around.

That's odd, it's the exact opposite with my dad. He always thinks it is something very minor. I asked him about it and he said that he has dealt with really sick people for so long that minor things don't really phase him anymore.

That being said, he makes us talk to our uncle, an PC internist. My dad knows he (my dad) is a substandard PCP because he doesn't deal with the common stuff a whole lot.

 

[neurolddoc]

The most common way I handle a physician's family is to waive the copay when they are seen. Probably not in strict compliance with my provider agreement with the insurance company, but who is going to complain. With a few docs with whom I have a close long term working relationship (and who are big referrers) I tell them "no charge". My kid's pediatrician doesn't give any courtesy but I'm happy to give her my $10 copay.