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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1957)
o Most Doctors Declared Wi.f.iig To Help Financially-Burdened Patient on Bill Wednesday, March 13, 1957 MEDFOHD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THREE not: Thl ! th Ut of, cents trh bv last tfir1! preri-: 1Q-- Editors d-nt of th rtaitnn nimmlni mliinlrUtnd inc share rose from 14 to profession. in 1929 to 27.2 cents in whereas the hospital's Br Dr. ELMEH HESS Written for United Press "A hundred and sixty dollars 7.8 cents Does that mean the public has a legitimate complaint about ris ing hospital costs? Well, don't forget that hospital services are considerably expanded these for a stay in the hospital when days. Modern medicine calls for I had my operation'' exclaims a increasingly expensive diagnos housewife. "Seems to me med-; tic and therapeutic equipment ical costs are certainly going pjus a larger crew of people to up!" . . . "My gall bladder cost ; provide care. Hospitals have to rr.e $1700." a businessman re- j pay higher wages today, just as ports. . . and. "My doctor! businesses do. They are compet- cnargea me a.iuu ior an ap- ine jor help in an emDlovees" pendectomy!" exclaims a third person. j Hidden in these three com ments are some clues to prob lems in the economic realm of medicine. And interestingly enough, these clues lead to some surprising conclusions. The housewffe who exclaimed about her hospital bill was re flecting an opinion that about one in four Americans hold that (j'Jch costs are spiraling rapidly. This view has caused enough conceri' in the medical profession that some probing has been going on to set the facts. market Furthermore, hospitals are more exposed to inflationary forces than are physicians. Prices for nearly every item a hospital must purchase wheth er it be equipment or the serv ices of personnel have climbed in the past 10 years. It isn't like ly these costs will level off until other prices level off corresond ingly. However, hospital stays are shorter today than they were in the past. The average stay now is seven days compared to 20 days in 1937. Then you paid S8 Do you really think it costs ; per dav: today, vou Dav S20 Der more to be sick today than it did day. Figure it out yourself. 10 or 20 years ago? It's true ' Your hosDital stv for th sam Americans are spending more for medical care but they are spending more for almost every other item these days. too. The economy since the end of World War II has been an inflationary one. But how do medical and hos pital costs stack up in terms of prices for other commodities and services. Actually, the portion people spend for medical care hasn't changed much in 25 years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The percentage spent for medical care has remained slightly more than 4 per cent and the per centage spent for physicians' services has remained at the 1.2 per cent level for several years. Look at Percentages Translating these statistical percentages into practical terms, you can buy your medical care for a smaller percentage of your wages &day than you could 20 years ago. The amount of med ical care which would have cost a whole week's wages in 1935 to 1939 costs only about one half a week's wages today. De spite much higher living costs, we still charge the same fees in our clinic we did 30 years For the first time, Americans are spending more for hospital care than they are for physi cian's share of the "medical care dollar" declined from 33 illness in 1937 cost S160 while today it costs $140. Here's where you reap the benefits of medical progress, which reduce length of illnesses tremendously in many instances. Good Old Days The good old days when hos pitals never questioned where the money was coming from are gone. Today there are no fairy godfathers to pick up the checks for the hospital deficit. Hospi tals must operate in a business like manner even though they are non-profit. When that businessman told his friends his gall bladder cost $1,700 he may have been telling the truth. Or, as he may have been indulging in a bit of exag geration, just as one of my own patients was. I was in the barber's chair one day, my face covered with a hot towel, when a man in the next chair began to talk about his recent hospital visit. He named a fee he had been charged for my services a fee, I might add, that was $1200 more than I really had charged and he even sounded some what proud of his bill.' Then he went on to tell the barber how expensive medical care was and took the hospital apart for his charges. About this moment the barber took the towel off my face. Needless to say, my patient was surprised, and very much embarrassed to see me. Bragging a little about how much we pay for things is cer tainly a human trait. Probably more of us are guilty of it than we'd care to admit. But on occa sions it can certainly give a completely erroneous picture of a situation. Of course. I think most doctors are quick to realize the way people feel about bills for medical and hospital care. Naturally they are reluctant to pay. They didn't ask to 'be sick. They are forced into buying an unwanted service Forking out cash for an illness you resent hurts a lot more than paying for a new television set or some other wanted item. Furthermore, doctors know that once a patient is well, his gratitude for med ical services fade rapidly. That's why the American Med ical Association has been en couraging all physicians to dis cuss fees with patients and to reach an understanding about the approximate costs before rendering extensive care. This is also the reason physicians are giving increasing attention to the business side of medicine. They are coming to realize that peo ple resent erratic billing prac tices which doctors often carry on, and that mistakes in bills don't endear doctors to their patients. They know, too, that itemized medical bills are less likely to be misunderstood than the old-fashioned "for profes sional services" type of doctor bill. Collection Procedures Another complaint the public sometimes airs about the med ical profession is that the col lection procedures used are poor. In the past a doctor generally has turned over that phase of his practice to his secretary or office girl. Now more and more doctors are realizing the impor tance of following up collections in a business-like way, but us ing special considerations when necessary. A doctor is entitled to a fair fee and I've found that most pa tients want to pay their own ob ligations. Occasionally they get financially ship-wrecked and it is in these cases that physicians and businessmen part company. Where the businessman gets tough, the doctor is more in clined to say, "If you've got some reason for not making the payment, will you please come into the office and talk to me about it? We want to help you in anyway we can." More and more doctors are helping pa tients budget for big medical expenses, on the "time-pay" basis so widely used in America. And traditionally, the medical profession willingly takes care of those who can't pay. But what about that third in dividual who said: "My doctor charged $500 for an appendec tomy!" I know of one instance where a woman did get a bill for that amount for a simple appendectomy of her daughter. The woman was a widow mak ing her own way, and told me she just couldn't pay that amount. The usual fee for an appendectomy of that type in my part of the country was about $150. Well, I told the wo man I'd talk to the doctor. He was a young man with special surgical training. "Doctor Hess," he told me, "$500 is what I charge for any operation. I feel my special training entitles me to a bigger charge for a 'comparable opera tion than "Other doctors get in this community." I explained to him that physi cians, regardless of their train ing, take care of sick people and I pointed out that he was making a mistake placing a monetary standard on his val uable services. "You'll get more happiness and satisfaction out of rendering a service of this sort than you'll ever get from any financial gain," I told him. I advised him to charge a fee the patient could pay. Well, the young surgeon went to see the woman, settled his fee for a very small sum, and later he told me it had been a marvel ous experience. I admit there are some glaring examples of men who put money before medicine. But it is a difficult thing for me. Af ter traveling the length and breadth of this country, to be lieve that money is the sole in terest ,of physicians and that they have little or no regard for the financial and economic prob lems of their patients. The pub lic bears out my feelings on this for five out of six say, "I like my doctor " Five out of six say "My doctor's fees are rea sonable" and nine out of ten deny doctors plan to get rich quick. NO CAUSE FOR ALARM Detroit IU.R) A furry little skunk holed up under a car Tuesday and held off 10 police men until a Canadian cougar hunter came to the rescue. Things remained stalemated un til hunter Jack Bradley, 42, came along. Bradley took a long look at the skunk, said it was descented, grabbed it and turned it over to the grateful police. Nov! At Smith-Dynge Lumber, Co.! n O (c n CIS & JB8MS ISPLAY AA0DEL n a boo Complete With Formica Tops, Hardware While TheYlasI! Full 86" Twin Bowl Youngstown Cabinet Sink Reg. SI8895 NOW ONLY $13995 To make room for installation of our NEW MONTEREY KITCHENS by Youngstown we must, sell our present Youngstown displays at . . . DRASTIC REDUCTIONS There's a large assortment of different sizes and types ... for overhead use and base cabinets, too. You can buy them separately or together, however you wish. Hurry in and choose now . . . you'll get GENUINE YOUNGSTOWN quality a.t lowest prices in history! Included in our sale also is a beautiful THERMADOR built -in range and oven . . . there's only one of these and its reduced to a rock bottom price! WATCH I (HnjFtfmnJfi&itLi Center MITH-DYN for the announcement of our coming OPEN HOUSE, showing the fabulous new Youngstown MONTEREY KITCH ENS on display soon at LUMBER COMPANY 8th & Fir Phone 2-7166 Quotes From the News By UNITED PRESS Seattle Dave Beck, president of the International Team sters' Union, answering charges that union funds were used by Oregon Teamsters organizer Clyde C. Crosby to purchase an airplane ticket for a Seattle gambler: "In my opinion, if he did buy the ticket, that was a mistake." Berlin Soviet Defense Minister Georgi Zhukov, speaking at an East Berlin reception after signing a Soviet-East German agreement on the continued stationing of 22 Russian divisions in Red Germany: "It is not our fault that the aggressive imperialist circles, who are holding to their course of a policy of strength and cold war. still do not take into account the interests of the working people and the results of their policy, which can only lead the world Jo a new devastating war." Chicago Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, on learning the Chicago Theological Seminary plans to tear down Robie House, one of his favorite creations: "A religious organization has no sense of beauty. You can't expect much from them." ' Washington FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover, charging tha4 the U.S. Communist Party still responsive to the will of Moscow: 'It still works for the destruction of the American way at life and it still is dedicated to the building of a Soviet United Slates." Washington Sen. Thomas C. Hennings Jr. (D-Mo.), on Intro ducing a resolution in Congress which would demand that the State Department issue a new passport to newspaper reporter William Worthy, who defied a ban and went to Communist China: "Although this resolution deals with a single passport applica tion, I think its ramifications are very wide. It deals with one ele ment of the principle of information which is so important to a dynamic and informed public opinion in a democratic society." Around Hollywood By ALINE MOSBY United Preu Correspondent Hollywood (U.R) While the movie industry burns, CBS' "Playhouse 90" has been stealing top properities from under Hol lywood noses. "1 Both the public and show business laughed when CBS sat down to try televi sion's first 1V4 hour live dra matic show last fall. Yet " P 1 a y h ouse Aline Mosby 90" has not only survived but has been snaring up dramas that the mov ies are planning to do. Thursday night, the hightly rated program will present "The Last Tycoon," F. Scott Fitzger ald's last hovel that is being considered by major move-makers for filming. And "The Helen Morgan Story" will be seen on "Playhouse 90" in May to the dismay of Warner Bros, which is making a much-publicized movie of the same name starring Ann BIyth and Paul Newman. Book Followed Closely Fitzgerald fans will be happy to hear from "Playhouse 90" producer Martin Manulis that his "The Last Tycoon," starring Jack Palance, will stick closely to the book. "Fitzgerald died before fin ishing the novel but he left a lot of notes," explained Man ulis. "He apparently planned the ending to include a melo dramatic double murder. How ever, Don Maciewitz, who did our script, wrote a different ending." Procuring the story of blues singer Helen Morgan was an even greater triumph for Man ulis. He heard a rumor that the Warner studio "for some reason" failed to nail down the TV rights when it purchased the movie story of Miss Morgan's life. "I called New York on a Sun day and found out the TV rights were available," said Manulis. "The next day we signed Lulu Morgan, Helen's mother, to give us the story.'' Miss BIyth and Newman al ready were in their jazz age costumes doing the movie when they heard CBS would get its story, starring Polly Bergen (one of the losing contenders for the movie role) on TV first. But, as they say in television, that's the way the cookie crum bles. . Another forthcoming "play house 90" will present "Good night, Sweet Prince," the book about John Barrymore. Warner Bros, soon begins shooting of "Too Much, Too Much," the life of Barrymore's daughter Linda. Nixon Takes Plane , For Sudan Capital Addis Ababa. Ethiopia U.R) Vice President Richard M. Nixon left by plane today for Khartoum, capital of the Sudan, which recently won its inde pendence from British and Egyptian rule. While in Adcfis Ababa he con ferred with Emperor Haile Se lassi on American aid for Ethio pia, development of the Nile river, economic and military problems and general questions such as the American attitude toward supporting the independ ence of African nations. Nixon told a press conference that Africa is increasingly be coming an "economic and ideo logical battleground" between Communism and the free world and called on the United States and other free nations to help the African nations win inde pendence. ' Bereaved Model Tries To Put on Show Walthamstow, Eng. U.R) Blonde model Judy Hull walked onto the stage in a fashion show Tuesday wearing a white lace wedding dress and carrying a bouquet. , Spectators applauded. The 20-year-old Judy burst into tears. The curtain dropped in front of her. "We apologize," the fashion commentator told the audience, "but the girl learned today that her fiance had been killed." Judy's fiance, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. 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