Eight out of 10 patients write a check for hospital expenses on their way out the door. The average hospital stay is 5.3 days. Health care costs in Singapore are 3.1 percent of the gross national product, while ours are 14 percent. Some say go slow. Some individuals might want this opportunity to shop, but it's hard to square with physicians' interest in MSAs.
Physicians are unlikely to look for an opportunity to lower prices.
Rather, many AMA members would prefer to negotiate fees and services with individual patients, rather than with employers and managed care plans. They envision a return to the days before widespread managed care, when patients and physicians, without third-party interference, jointly decided on the course of care and terms of treatment. On the contrary, says LaGrelius, MSAs will hardly create a physician's paradise. They'll lead to fewer elective surgeries, for one thing. I deal with cash patients all the time.