Cherry Hill, N.J. -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/15/2012 --David Weinstein has spent his career dealing with healthcare issues. He's owned his own medical billing company, and he began a healthcare cooperative in 1999, well before anyone else had thought of the idea. He's been watching the healthcare reform debate in government quite closely, and he has some definite opinions about issues that could reform medical billing. David Weinstein also thinks some ideas are just bad. In his opinion, tort reform is a bad idea.

Many Americans have health maintenance organization (HMO) coverage. In these plans, the member must choose a doctor to manage care and the doctor gets paid per member. "So in other words, the doctor gets paid a set fee whether he sees that patient or not," David Weinstein says. Some doctors are given a bonus if they don't refer patients to specialists and they take care of all of the patient's medical care themselves. The HMO pays less when a doctor takes care of the patient, and they pay more when the patient sees a specialist. The HMO pays the doctor no matter what. "The doctor has no incentive to see that patient, because the doctor will get paid a set fee whether he sees the patient or not," David Weinstein says. "The doctor will be tempted not to refer the patient out to a specialist, so he or she can keep the bonus."

So why would a doctor ever refer a patient to see a specialist or agree to take an appointment on an already busy day? "I can tell you," David Weinstein says. "The threat of malpractice or a lawsuit." When the threat of a lawsuit hangs in the air, the doctor may be more likely to refer the patient to a qualified specialist, rather than trying to handle something delicate alone. The doctor may encourage people to come in regularly for care. "Thus by enacting tort reform and limiting the patients' right to sue, you are exposing the most vulnerable segment of our healthcare society, the lower and middle class Americans to sub-par healthcare," David Weinstein of Cherry Hill,N.J , says.

Healthcare and health insurance are delicate topics with many intertwining interests and players. David Weinstein encourages lawmakers to consider all aspects of an issue before considering reforms, and he's writing a book on the topic. By weighing in with his own expert opinion, David Weinstein hopes he can clarify the matter and provide assistance to decision makers.

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