No breakfast this morning. It's time for another cholesterol screening at
Northlake Health Foods. There's usually a huge line of senior citizens ahead of us when we go to these screenings. It's not surprising actually, especially when you consider that you receive a complete blood panel from a reputable testing lab for only $20. When my regular doctor runs a similar panel of tests, it usually shows up as a $400 charge on my insurance statement. I'm convinced that this one little example is at the heart of why the entire health care situation is such a mess. The whole concept of insurance destroys competition. Whenever someone thinks you are paying with someone else's money, the price goes up. Always! Car insurance, health insurance, homeowner's insurance...it's all the same. Nobody gives you their best price, because they know you're not the one who's paying. In theory, going to see your doctor shouldn't cost much more that taking your dog to the vet. Veterinarians are very well trained. They typically have more up-to-date X-Ray and diagnostic equipment than their human medicine counterparts. They only charge a small fraction of what your regular doctor charges however, all while performing essentially the same services. What's the difference? No insurance is usually involved. The vets know you are paying with your own money and charge accordingly.
Somehow Janet and I missed the usual long line at the cholesterol screening and were in and out in ten minutes. We celebrated our good fortune by going to
Cracker Barrel and having a large plate of stuff that wasn't good for us. After pancakes and some nice thick bacon strips, I was ready to hit the stores and do the week's shopping. I'm having a harder and harder time finding incandescent light bulbs. Everyone is stocking these florescent and LED bulbs instead. I hate them. They're way too dim for me and if you drop and break one of the new spiral florescent bulbs, you turn your house into a hazmat site.
Hey, the blog is one month old today and
Dr. Who is on BBC tonight. Things could be a lot worse.
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Happy 1 month! And I'm glad you're keeping an eye on your heart.
ReplyDeleteFee-for-service has to go. Until it does, we will continue to pay for what we do not need.