I am responding to the recent guest commentary by Rick Cooper, CEO of the Everett Clinic. (“Taking steps to hold down health care costs.”) Cooper makes a great argument that is supposed to convince us that the Everett Clinic is working to control their patient care costs with such laudable actions as “standard, evidence-based protocols for imaging techniques,” “ban(ning) pharmaceutical companies from doctor’s offices,” and being an “early adopter of generic drugs.” However, I would like to challenge Mr. Cooper to explain why his clinic has totally prohibited servicing new patients who come to the clinic with original Medicare insurance plans. I think the Everett Clinic is working to control patient care costs by refusing to accept new, original Medicare patients because their profit margin is not big enough based on Medicare reimbursement formulas.
When Mr. Cooper claims that the recent Washington Health Alliance statewide study “offers an opportunity … to look at where we may be falling short of providing care for our patients,” maybe he should start with the basics of this premise such as actually accepting new patients who have original Medicare insurance plans. I would love to see another commentary in your newspaper from Mr. Cooper explaining why original Medicare customers are prohibited from being accepted as new patients at his clinic, and how this supports his clinic’s professed desire to “deliver the highest standard of care.” Obviously you can’t deliver anything to patients you refuse to serve.
Karen Richards
Snohomish
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