Physicians: "We are the new factory workers"

This article was from six years ago:

Lots of patients fork over nothing but a co-pay, the mandatory cash outlay that can be as low as $10, or even $2. “What do you value a physician at if you pay $2?” asks Stracher, who says that sometimes, for that amount, patients blithely skip even bringing along money. For two bucks, patients sometimes don’t show up. Or they get the idea that — guess what? — doctors are only worth a few dollars. Fox recalls a patient with a $10 co-pay. She had a small tumor in a lymph node and wanted a second opinion on surgery. She was upset and nervous, and Fox spent more than 30 minutes calming and examining her. In the end, he assured her, she didn’t need surgery. “That’s the best $10 I ever spent,” she gushed, leaving Fox nonplussed. To the patient, he thought, “that’s what I’m worth.”

Things have gotten worse since.

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