Like country doctor approach

The Spokesman-Review’s article “Country doctor approach” (Feb. 12) was a welcome read. Finally, a clear-headed solution to the morass of needlessly complex, obstructive and time-wasting insurance company manipulation.

By eliminating the middleman, a significant reduction in costs is realized by both doctor and patient. My wife has had to battle two insurance companies for more than two years to get her medical bills straightened out. One company would pay the bill, then unpay it when someone felt the other company should pay for some of the cost. The seemingly never-ending flow of statements coming in the mail long after the deductible has been paid tells us the current system is inefficient, to say the least.

This retainer-based system that Dr. Rich Samuel is currently operating under is a much more transparent, cost-effective way to go, judging from what I read in the article.

The doctor’s caseload is smaller, which means the patients are getting more quality time, and the cost savings make this type of system affordable to more people who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

A win-win situation I’d say, unless you’re a chief executive officer of a medical insurance firm.

Jeff Nelson

Veradale