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I hear they make money off hungry and thirsty people too.

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2 comments on I hear they make money off hungry and thirsty people too.

Boston mayor tries to ban in-store health clinics.

I’ve never been to one of these limited-service clinics — the kind that treat minor illnesses, offer flu shots, etc., inside grocery stores and pharmacies — and so I can’t comment much on the quality of care.  Still, assuming that they follow relevant regulations, are clear about their limitations,  and employ staff that are trained to spot bigger problems and recommend followup care… why not?     We already have a problem where loads of people are uninsured, seek primary care in the emergency room, and don’t get continuity of care.  Why not have some of that care be cheap and convenient, at least?  It’s another story, of course, if the in-store clinics offer care that is actually worse than the status quo for the average underinsured patient, but do they?

I won’t come down on either side of this issue without knowing more about it, but I will name the most ridiculous quote of the story:  "Allowing retailers to make money off of sick people is wrong."   It’s even more ridiculous when you remember that the retailer in question is a pharmacy.

ADDED:  From the comments:

It sounds like this plan would rectify a major problem in Massachusetts – we have no urgent care. You have to get all care from either your PCP [primary care provider] (translation = make an appt) or from the ED ([emergency department] translation = pay a high co-pay)…

The other problem is that you can’t really find a PCP anymore – certainly not a good one (unless you’re in the medical field). Former Gov Romney’s health care plan mandated that everyone have insurance in the state. This meant that there was a sudden influx of people with new insurance who had to choose a PCP. As a result, PCPs quickly stopped taking new patients. And those of us that do have PCPs have trouble seeing them, due to the high number of patients.

Nobody should come to the health care debate without facing the fact that every resource is finite.   (Who said "There are no solutions, only tradeoffs?")  And not every limit can be raised quickly by spending more money on it — the number of available slots for primary-care patients is only one example.

Comments

2 responses to “I hear they make money off hungry and thirsty people too.”

  1. Derek Avatar
    Derek

    Good grief. The mayor of Boston is truly an idiot. It sounds like this plan would rectify a major problem in Massachusetts – we have no urgent care. You have to get all care from either your PCP (translation = make an appt) or from the ED (translation = pay a high co-pay).
    When we first moved to Boston, my daughter was 5 months old, and she had been 2 months premature. She developed a fever within 2 days of being here. Fortunately, we still had my wife’s insurance from her previous job (my job didn’t begin for another 2 weeks). But, we couldn’t just go to an Urgent Care b/c there weren’t any. So we had to pick a PCP and go there quickly. Very frustrating. As it turns out, she had a febrile UTI.
    The other problem is that you can’t really find a PCP anymore – certainly not a good one (unless you’re in the medical field). Former Gov Romney’s health care plan mandated that everyone have insurance in the state. This meant that there was a sudden influx of people with new insurance who had to choose a PCP. As a result, PCPs quickly stopped taking new patients. And those of us that do have PCPs have trouble seeing them, due to the high number of patients.
    For laughs, here’s a website with sound clips of Mayor Mumbles Menino (he can barely speak coherently) at various venues. Some of the humor is local, but he is just so bad.
    http://www.mumblesmenino.us/

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  2. MelanieB Avatar
    MelanieB

    “And those of us that do have PCPs have trouble seeing them, due to the high number of patients.”
    Ain’t that the truth. The last several times I went to my PCP for minor things like a sinus infection or conjunctivitis I saw a nurse practitioner anyway. As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t seem like this sort of clinic would be any kind of change from the level of care I’m already getting for the kinds of minor ailments that I already feel pretty confident in diagnosing for myself and for which I just need the doctor to confirm my diagnosis and prescribe medication. And it might save me a longer wait and a drive across town.

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