09-25-2017, 06:08 AM
Conservatively estimate that the specialist sees 10 patients/day. How is it cheaper to fly 10 patients to Oahu than to fly the specialist to a neighbor island?
Yes, that's true, but the real calculation is about inconveniencing the patients (regardless of the high cost) rather than a rare specialist who probably already has all the business he/she can handle.
I sincerely wish birdmove well and have dealt with Kaiser urology myself. My original urologist came to Hilo regularly and wanted to keep coming, but Kaiser made him switch to Kona supposedly because of better clinic facilities that he told me he only rarely used. When this excellent doctor finally retired for good, he told me that Kaiser really wanted to close the Hilo clinic because of the large number of high acuity patients whom Kaiser management described as "unwilling to take care of themselves." They obviously never acted on this desire, but they did raise their Medicare Advantage premiums for Big Island patients 300% at one fell swoop. You can't tell me that all this stuff isn't related.
Yes, that's true, but the real calculation is about inconveniencing the patients (regardless of the high cost) rather than a rare specialist who probably already has all the business he/she can handle.
I sincerely wish birdmove well and have dealt with Kaiser urology myself. My original urologist came to Hilo regularly and wanted to keep coming, but Kaiser made him switch to Kona supposedly because of better clinic facilities that he told me he only rarely used. When this excellent doctor finally retired for good, he told me that Kaiser really wanted to close the Hilo clinic because of the large number of high acuity patients whom Kaiser management described as "unwilling to take care of themselves." They obviously never acted on this desire, but they did raise their Medicare Advantage premiums for Big Island patients 300% at one fell swoop. You can't tell me that all this stuff isn't related.