03/06/2014    Gary S Smith, DPM

The Crash of Healthcare

Healthcare advisors to hospitals and big medical
businesses have been telling them to prepare to
not get paid for six months after ICD-10 goes into
effect. Many of you involved with these systems
may be noticing the cuts they have been making to
staff, including expensive physicians.

If this happens, many of you will lose your jobs.
Most private practice people will survive this. I
suggest having all your Medicare patients sign an
ABN after October 1st. If Obamacare is not delayed
and really goes into effect at the end of 2014,
then I believe the whole healthcare system will
collapse by the end of summer 2015.

If Obamacare goes into effect, many patients will
have $5,000 to $10,000 deductibles. Most of these
people simply will not pay this deductible. Almost
none of them will be able to afford to cut a check
for their whole deductible for elective surgery
like bunions, colonoscopies, and knee scopes.

Tests like MRIs, blood tests, CTs etc, won't be
done. People won't go to the ER unless they are
dying. The "bread and butter" of healthcare
industry survival will be gone and so will the
healthcare industry. Most physician employees will
be gone. The government will step in with single
payer and save the day! Patients that can't afford
healthcare will jump on it. Doctors that are
unemployed will embrace it. It will be wonderful!

The only stones in the road are doctors in private
practice. They will survive all this. They will
provide office space and opportunity for other
doctors and healthcare providers to continue to
flourish. It will be a true lesson in the
greatness of capitalism! Of course if the IRS,
OSHA, and Medicare can find away to get rid of
private practice doctors then nothing will stop
single payer.

Gary S Smith, DPM, Bradford, PA,
penndoc@verizon.net

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