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.
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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. John Watkins, 27, of
Cleveland, Ohio, and two other
U.S. pilots were killed Monday
in a collision between anF84F
Thunderjet and a T33 Shoot
ing Star jet trainer.
a' ' '
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