Libertine Medicine: Gold, Doctors, and Your Privacy

I am a well known physician here in Arizona, selected as a ‘Top Doc', that has developed a cash only international practice in the field of prostate cancer. However, before medicine I had studied Austrian Economic Theory and voted for Ron Paul in 1988 amongst many other 'qualifications' shared by many reading this. I was asked to share some insights that could help those of us preparing to survive the Future America and her currency crisis. The following will outline a fundamental problem for physicians and how Freedom members can capitalize on it.

Why Choose Medicine?; A Lesson For Us All:

I was raised by my Grandparents who survived World War 2, the polio epidemic, and of course the Great Depression. They were 'mocked' by my parents generation for living within their means, not owning credit cards, and saving money 'under their mattress'. Many of their Generation did this without question. In medicine we could consider this a conditioned response from an economic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); for the Patriot movement this is called Common Sense. My Grandparents also stated a very powerful axiom that "during the Depression, there were 3 jobs you could do where you would NEVER starve. #1. If you could fix things (a plumber, mechanic, etc.), #2. If you could feed people (farmer, food store), and #3. If you could heal people. Of the 3, medicine became both my profession and my 'economic insurance policy'. I of course don't mean this in the stereotypical 'rich doctor' stereotype (that does not really exist anymore) but in the sense that I could diagnose and treat myself and family with both natural and prescription medicines. Most importantly, I could always trade my services or have a trade that can be transported to any country. I realize that most readers are not in health care; however, the foundation of my Grandparents advice will still guide most Americans searching for a more stable profession.

Although considered a cliché, physicians are in general the most ignorant of all professions with regard to business and how money works. You must realize that despite all their intelligence they have no ‘real world’ experience; they are most likely analogous to a Government worker. This is because the average physician has never worked in the private sector. He/she typically attended all government public schools as an undergraduate, went straight to medical school on federal loans, then directly into a residency that is subsidized by Medicare dollars, and then immediately to work as a physician (to pay off the enormous loans) where he will most likely be hired in a corporate hospital or practice that accepts government insurance and payments like Medicare.

By accepting ANY government money, the doctor is now obligated to operate his entire practice under federal restrictions and payments, even if the occasional patient pays with straight cash. This is especially important for specialists that revolve their entire, very expensive, practice on these funds. So when the eventual currency crisis hits and federal funding dries up with spectacular inflation, these practices will be hit hard. The GP or general practitioner (family doctor), who is often not respected compared to specialists, will become very popular. This is because it will be easier to switch away from an insurance / government regulated practice to a cash based one. The specialist at this point will have an even harder problem however… he is too specialized! Patients will expect for their limited money a doctor to treat multiple conditions and not refer out for every different ailment. Specialists truly do forget how to treat the whole patient and will further drive demand for good GPs.

It means it will be easier for networks of physicians to begin accepting gold and silver for payment. Also, with the free market in action (people paying with real money) only the best doctors will evolve to this position that means better care for you. In addition, GPs are often solo practices rather than expensive group practices where one doctor cannot accept gold / silver without all agreeing. It means that the ‘real money’ physician, freed of government and insurance shackles can spend much more time with you for better care. Matter of fact my office often makes more money per hour than an insurance physician while being able to spend up to an hour with a patient and not without any abnormal patient cost. And finally it means that the doctor does not have to follow HIPPA guidelines. This point cannot be stressed enough.

HIPPA are ‘privacy’ standards that every doctor must follow if he accepts any government moneys or contracts with insurance companies. If the doctor does not then you are not under the restrictions. Of course ‘every’ doctor has been roped into these payments options so people believe it is ‘universal’. Although in theory HIPPA is to ‘protect your medical privacy’, they do the opposite. HIPPA mandates that all medical records must be now in electronic form. What compounds this problem however is The Patriot Act. It was quietly extended and enhanced under the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. In this, to of course stop terrorists, all medical records that are electronic fall under the scope of the law and can be accessed. So, therefore, only a real money physician can see you as a patient and keep those records tangible, not electronic, and thus not able to be government monitored.

The Currency Crisis, as all Freedom members understand, will dramatically shift the economic landscape of America. Your medical care is no exception. I hope to keep you updated on our health care ‘revolution’ as it unfolds.

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