A Better Way

If you don’t like the system there are 3 options.

1. Too bad. Out of your control so don’t worry about it. Just accept how it is. Keep your head down and work harder/longer.

2. Change the system. Good luck changing Medicare, Medicaid, Anthem, Cigna, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Humana, etc, etc, etc.

3. Leave the system.

Option #3 was the only reasonable and acceptable option for me. I’m extremely blessed to practice podiatry and provide care for others. At 37 years old I have no desire or intention to retire or change professions anytime in the foreseeable future. With those facts in place, I simply could not spend the rest of my career working in “the system”. It’s crazy to actual contemplate how “the system” works. A external, massively large company who has never met me or even investigated/determined the quality of my care/skills dictates what my value is and how I need to treat my patients. These insurance companies determine my value based on my age, my profession (orthopedic surgeons are paid more than podiatrists for the same services/procedures/surgeries) and the size of the group I am in. If I’m not in a hospital or large group, they don’t pay much. The insurance mandates and necessary overhead expenses destroyed small independent practices. It is very difficult to survive in the medical world these days as a small independent practice, nearly impossible. No thank you. Thankful to be living in the United States of America where we have the freedoms to change systems and improve life. Thank God.