Back to the Future: REAL Health Care Reform
September/16/2009
This is what really good health care looks like:
This picture of my daughter, Julie, and her grandfather, Dr. James R. Monteith, was made in 1971, just before he retired after having served the community of Annville, PA for over 35 years. For most of those years he was one of only two doctors who cared for all the families in the area, including delivering babies and treating everything, referring only cardiology patients. When he retired, his office visit cost $15, up from the $10 he charged for years, because he had to hire a clerk to take care of the paperwork foisted on doctors during the 1960’s. Today, the two medical practices that cover part of the area my father-in-law served employs 15 physicians and who-knows-how-many others. The cost to visit the doctor today? can’t tell you; it’s practically impossible to get an answer. My co-pay typically is between $20-$30, but it’s a chore to figure out what my insurance company is billed.
One of the reasons why I am so passionate about the current national health care debate, beyond the impact it will have on all Americans and on small business, is because I know the value of a good family doctor. I also know how far away from this ideal our country has strayed since I made this photograph.
But today I was greatly heartened to see Dr. Juilliet Madrigal-Dersch on the Neil Cavuto business program. She was commenting on the Investor’s Business Daily TIPP poll showing that two out of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted. Dr. Madrigal-Dersch has already opted out of the insurance-based medical system and conducts a cash-based practice in Marble Falls, TX. I immediately Googled her and found a YouTube video showing her appearance at an April 19, 2009 Health Care Reform Congressional Briefing in the Russell Senate Office Building. It’s 11 minutes long, but it’s worth every minute to listen to the the wisdom this young doctor, wife, and mother has to impart.
The practice that Dr. Madrigal-Dersch explains is a perfect description of how my father-in-law ran his practice, especially the part about the importance of getting to know what’s going on in the life of patients. I still am stopped on the street by his former patients who tell me that no one could treat their sinus problems as well as Dr. Monteith, and I can vouch for that! Like Dr. Madrigal-Dersch, my father-in-law received payment-in-kind from many patients, including baked goods, fresh produce, and a lot of freshly plucked chickens and ducks that we helped to eat. And once a week he paid pro-bono visits to hospital patients in the local charity hospital that was replaced years ago by the shiny new E.R. clinic that costs a fortune to visit. “Dr. Juliette” understands the power of free enterprise and she practices the same business principles that photographers should embrace because it’s “good medicine.”
So here’s what I hope: When I found the Madrigal-Dersch video on YouTube, the counter was set at just under 600 views. I hope you will forward this article to everyone you know who cares about this issue. Let’s help to make this lady famous! You can copy a link to this article here, or you can copy a link to the video alone here.
And here’s some more information on the good doctor:
Dr. Madrigal-Dersch concludes the second video by telling the doctors in her audience to “Love your patients and let your patients love you. Remember why you went to medical school in the first place and spend every day taking care of patients with the same love and zeal. That’s how it is at our practice and that’s why it’s so much fun. When you go to medical school it’s because you want to take care of people, and that’s what I do every day.”
What a great way to run a medical practice, or a photography business for that matter!
I hope you agree.
This picture of my daughter, Julie, and her grandfather, Dr. James R. Monteith, was made in 1971, just before he retired after having served the community of Annville, PA for over 35 years. For most of those years he was one of only two doctors who cared for all the families in the area, including delivering babies and treating everything, referring only cardiology patients. When he retired, his office visit cost $15, up from the $10 he charged for years, because he had to hire a clerk to take care of the paperwork foisted on doctors during the 1960’s. Today, the two medical practices that cover part of the area my father-in-law served employs 15 physicians and who-knows-how-many others. The cost to visit the doctor today? can’t tell you; it’s practically impossible to get an answer. My co-pay typically is between $20-$30, but it’s a chore to figure out what my insurance company is billed.
One of the reasons why I am so passionate about the current national health care debate, beyond the impact it will have on all Americans and on small business, is because I know the value of a good family doctor. I also know how far away from this ideal our country has strayed since I made this photograph.
But today I was greatly heartened to see Dr. Juilliet Madrigal-Dersch on the Neil Cavuto business program. She was commenting on the Investor’s Business Daily TIPP poll showing that two out of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted. Dr. Madrigal-Dersch has already opted out of the insurance-based medical system and conducts a cash-based practice in Marble Falls, TX. I immediately Googled her and found a YouTube video showing her appearance at an April 19, 2009 Health Care Reform Congressional Briefing in the Russell Senate Office Building. It’s 11 minutes long, but it’s worth every minute to listen to the the wisdom this young doctor, wife, and mother has to impart.
The practice that Dr. Madrigal-Dersch explains is a perfect description of how my father-in-law ran his practice, especially the part about the importance of getting to know what’s going on in the life of patients. I still am stopped on the street by his former patients who tell me that no one could treat their sinus problems as well as Dr. Monteith, and I can vouch for that! Like Dr. Madrigal-Dersch, my father-in-law received payment-in-kind from many patients, including baked goods, fresh produce, and a lot of freshly plucked chickens and ducks that we helped to eat. And once a week he paid pro-bono visits to hospital patients in the local charity hospital that was replaced years ago by the shiny new E.R. clinic that costs a fortune to visit. “Dr. Juliette” understands the power of free enterprise and she practices the same business principles that photographers should embrace because it’s “good medicine.”
So here’s what I hope: When I found the Madrigal-Dersch video on YouTube, the counter was set at just under 600 views. I hope you will forward this article to everyone you know who cares about this issue. Let’s help to make this lady famous! You can copy a link to this article here, or you can copy a link to the video alone here.
And here’s some more information on the good doctor:
- Click here to see her contact information on DoctorsScordcard.com.
- Click here to read her spirited opinion of what’s wrong with the portion of the health-care system in which she practices. It appeared as a letter to the editor in the June 2004 issue of Emergency Medicine News.
- Click here for a longer Google video presentation on how she runs her cash-based practice. I think this presentation is priceless because she demonstrates the clarity that comes when you “know your numbers.” Bless you, Juliette!
Dr. Madrigal-Dersch concludes the second video by telling the doctors in her audience to “Love your patients and let your patients love you. Remember why you went to medical school in the first place and spend every day taking care of patients with the same love and zeal. That’s how it is at our practice and that’s why it’s so much fun. When you go to medical school it’s because you want to take care of people, and that’s what I do every day.”
What a great way to run a medical practice, or a photography business for that matter!
I hope you agree.