Doctor declines all forms of health insurance. Slashes prices by 50%!

I thought this was a fairly interesting article and this is a prime example of how free markets can reform healthcare in the United States and across the world.

A doctor decided to decline all forms of insurance for patients and instead decides to accept cash only. By doing this, he has eliminated unnecessary overhead and is able to provide BETTER service and slash prices in half.

"Before, Ciampi charged $160 for an office visit with an existing patient facing one or more complicated health problems. Now, he charges $75.

Patients with an earache or strep throat can spend $300 at their local hospital emergency room, or promptly get an appointment at his office and pay $50, he said. Ciampi collects payment at the end of the visit, freeing him of the time and costs associated with sending bills, he said. That time is crucial to Ciampi. When his patients come to his office, they see him, not a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner, he said.

“If more doctors were able to do this, that would be real health care reform,” he said. “That’s when we’d see the cost of medicine truly go down.”

Link