Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I got the phone call nobody wants.

Not "free money" - it comes from every patient he has.
A friend who was an MD told me 30+ years ago that, of every dollar that came in - 50 cents went to malpractice insurance.
Every patient pays that bill - and I shudder to think what the rate is up to now.

Back in January 1988, I was in the office of the Head Cardiologist at St Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, as a vendor for their Cardiology Program. It was one of the largest in the nation. He told me that he had never been sued by any patient or entity in his career. But told me that earlier that month, he had to pay his insurance company $850,000.00 for his premium for the year, by December 31st 1987, to be able to open his doors on January 2, 1988.

And that was 35 years ago....Lord knows what it is in today's world.

Over the years, I've had hundreds of doctors as clients and customers for the companies I worked for, as a vendor.
Can't tell you how many I've known that have left being in practice, due to the costs of insurance.. and have gone on to be those doctors that work for attorneys as a professional consultant in court cases. They don't have to pay the insurance overhead, and they can make even more money doing that, than being a patient seeing doctor... even at big medical centers.

Health care is a racket in this country and has been for the last 40 plus years.

I just lost my current doctor this past June, for the exact same reason... The Hospital here can't recruit another to replace him and is having a severe physician shortage overall. Know local doctors who have large practices and are getting out of the business of seeing patients... too much overhead, laws getting stringent, where patients can file a complaint at the drop of a hat over nothing... and in Oregon, all these drug addict transients, get free health care and then file a complaint against medical personnel, that can loses them their jobs.. and the hospitals won't get involved to back their employees. That is why I lost my primary care physician in June... some drug addict filed a complaint against him with the state, the hospital wouldn't back him up at all... the Doc was a graduate of Harvard Medical School and was only 35 years old...

Welcome to health care under DemocRATs.

It's been a few weeks, a few very busy weeks and I have an update. I was diagnosed a week ago last Friday with Harry Cell Leukemia, a rare but treatable form of bone marrow cancer. I started chemo last Wednesday and have had chemo everyday since until this morning. I get the weekend off and then we resume next week for a few days in a row. I'm doing okay with the chemo and looking very forward to getting the chemo portion of my treatment behind me. Immunotherapy to follow in the coming months, but my prognosis is good. Thanks for all the kind words thoughts and messages sent to me. My spirits are high and I'm grateful for my wonderful wife and my cancer team at the Colorado blood cancer institute. One of my sons will be home for Thanksgiving so it will be good to have part of our family together and everyone will be home for Christmas.