Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Bartering and whether doctors should be paid with chickens

Doctor Grumpy, MD
Potpourri
May 13, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share

Generally, I find my practice works best when I get paid in dollars. They’re convenient. They can be transmitted electronically between bank accounts. Mary and Annie like them. I can spend them by swiping a credit card.

But, in a remarkable effort to win the “Let’s See How Stupid I Can Sound” award, a Nevada candidate for U.S. Senate has proposed ditching the idea of paying doctors in money, and going to a barter system with them. Specifically, she suggested paying us in chickens or house painting.

Really.

Sue Lowden is the gem who hatched this idea. In fact, she was given a chance to explain it, on the assumption that she misspoke. But nope. When given the opportunity to clarify her point, she again clearly stated that medical services should be reimbursed by bartering goods, such as chickens, and not by paying money. She specifically indicated it was to pay doctors, and didn’t say if it should be applied to other business (such as buying your drugs at the pharmacy, or groceries at the store). She even said she wasn’t going to back down from the idea.

Barter is not a bad thing. In some situations it works. Most civilizations used it before the advent of money. But the majority of human cultures eventually developed cash of some form. Because let’s face it: it’s hard to carry around enough chickens to buy a car. And they’re messy. And, unlike coins, they require feeding.

This idea may work for some docs, but not me. I personally don’t want to collect co-pays in chickens. Or goats. Or frying pans. Or anything other than money. This is also a matter of cleanliness: my migraine patients are sensitive to smells. I don’t think they want to sit in a lobby filled with the livestock someone else brought to settle their bill.

And I don’t have enough space in my yard to handle all those co-pays. Mary and Annie are also not going to be thrilled to be told that instead of money I’m now going to pay them in sheep and legumes. It’s a baaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhd idea.

The logistics of making an ER co-pay become especially daunting, especially if you’re now in a wheelchair and but need to use the space in your car for bushels of corn and some turpentine.

And just try giving your kids a handful of chickens to spend at Chuck-E-Cheese’s.

We will also need to re-do medical school curriculum, to include care and feeding of livestock, as well as how to run your own slaughterhouse (for us non-surgeons) when turning your co-pays into dinner.

Ms. Lowden, to verify the usefulness of your idea,why don’t you try a simple experiment — go into any large casino in Las Vegas. With a chicken. And try to bet it on any game. Or stuff it in a slot machine. And then see what casino security thinks about being paid in something other than money. I suspect they’ll be as fond of the idea as I am.

Doctor Grumpy is a neurologist who blogs at Doctor Grumpy in the House.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Prev

Before quitting medicine, consider the children

May 13, 2010 Kevin 14
…
Next

Medical practice success depends on a strong clinical team

May 13, 2010 Kevin 2
…

ADVERTISEMENT

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Before quitting medicine, consider the children
Next Post >
Medical practice success depends on a strong clinical team

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Doctor Grumpy, MD

  • Medicine can suck the compassion out of you. But I still give it my best shot.

    Doctor Grumpy, MD
  • Charging $5 per visit is easy if you’re independently wealthy

    Doctor Grumpy, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Would you refuse drugs from an Israeli drug company?

    Doctor Grumpy, MD

More in Potpourri

  • What it takes to be called a great doctor: a patient’s perspective

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Your audience deserves the best: Consider Physician Speaking by KevinMD to highlight your event

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Physician keynotes at TexMed 2019 and the 2019 ASPR Annual Conference

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Welcome to your new career center!

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Physician speakers are ready to highlight your conference: Spring 2018 update

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Consider the @KevinMD keynote experience for your event

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Medicalizing burnout misses the real problem

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How the shingles vaccine could help prevent dementia

      Marc Arginteanu, MD | Conditions
    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 17 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • 2 hours to decide my future: How the SOAP residency match traps future doctors

      Nicolette V. S. Sewall, MD, MPH | Education
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • “Think twice, heal once”: Why medical decision-making needs a second opinion from your slower brain (and AI)

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why we fear being forgotten more than death itself

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Medicalizing burnout misses the real problem

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How the shingles vaccine could help prevent dementia

      Marc Arginteanu, MD | Conditions
    • How to survive a broken health care system without losing yourself [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why some doctors age gracefully—and others grow bitter

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • What the research really says about infrared saunas

      Khushali Jhaveri, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Bartering and whether doctors should be paid with chickens
17 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...