NY Times: Private Oncologists Being Forced Out, Leaving Patients to Face Higher Bills

[LiberalElite]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/health/private-oncologists-being-forced-out-leaving-patients-to-face-higher-bills.html?_r=0

-snip-

When Dr. Jeffery Ward, a cancer specialist, and his partners sold their private practice to the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, the hospital built them a new office suite 50 yards from the old place. The practice was bigger, but Dr. Ward saw the same patients and provided chemotherapy just like before. On the surface, nothing had changed but the setting.

But there was one big difference. Treatments suddenly cost more, with higher co-payments for patients and higher bills for insurers. Because of quirks in the payment system, patients and their insurers pay hospitals and their doctors about twice what they pay independent oncologists for administering cancer treatments.
-snip-

[Cooley Hurd]

1. ...and then there's Cancer Treatment Centers of America:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_Treatment_Centers_of_America#Controversy

Controversy
Cancer Treatment Centers of America was the subject of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint in 1993. The FTC alleged that CTCA made false claims regarding the success rates of certain cancer treatments in CTCA's marketing and promotional materials. This claim was settled in March 1996, requiring CTCA to discontinue use of any unsubstantiated claims in their advertising. CTCA is also required to have proven, scientific evidence for all statements regarding the safety, success rates, endorsements, and benefits of their cancer treatments. CTCA was also required to follow various steps in order to report compliance to the FTC per the settlement. A 2013 Reuters special report stated that CTCA continues to make misleading survival rate claims on its website.

In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued CTCA a Warning Letter concerning three clinical trials that were conducted in violation of FDA requirements.

According to the Washington Post, founder Stephenson is one of the primary funding sources for the conservative organization Freedom Works, which has typically aligned itself with tea party causes.

In 2013, oncologist David Gorski, writing for Science Blogs, published an article that criticized CTCA for using pseudoscientific treatments (e.g. homeopathy) in addition to mainstream treatments. He stated that some "otherwise talented doctors" are now "complicit in the blurring of the line between science and pseudoscience in medicine while believing that they are doing good for the patient by giving them 'holistic care'. "

[Fred Sanders]

2. Profiting off of the medical misery of others and making it a business model is disgusting.

The entire private insurance for profit medical health system of America is an abomination.

CCA is only for rich folks, only for those affording Cadillac insurance plans or paying out of pocket....so the riff raff are kept away and the insurance profits can be laundered with huge fees and pass throug profits.

No wonder there is a strong Bircher link.

[bemildred]

3. Hospitals have been turned into another money making racket. nt