Opinion: “Sorry, But We Only Know the Best Doctors…”

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doctorsBy Kollel Guy

Frum people generally have an obsession with using only the very best doctors. Wherever in the country a specialist is to be found, frum people will travel to them. Cleveland, Rochester, Dallas, Boston, and Los Angeles are just a few of the cities with top quality hospitals, and all of them will host many a frum family that finds themselves there in need of medical care.

Our community is blessed with wonderful medical referral services that operate free of charge to the community. ECHO, MRA, Refuah Resources and Relief are a few of these that provide information and invaluable access to top notch doctors and specialists.

However, many patients who need medical care do not have the best insurance, and many of these specialists do not take their insurance. Some specialists don’t take any insurance, requiring a huge expense for the patient who needs their care. Medical costs are skyrocketing, with typical fees way out of the budget for many families.

I challenge ECHO and all the other organizations that provide these wonderful referral services for our community. Help us in more ways than one. Take not only the medical professionalism and experience of the doctor, but also the financial ability of the patient to afford the doctor fees and costs. If there is another choice of doctor that accepts insurance more readily, mention them. Patients should not automatically be forced to spend money they don’t have when there are often times an acceptable alternative.

Of course, in a question of life and death, the most qualified doctor must be seen, regardless of the cost. But on many matters that require the care of a specialist, a decent choice of doctors with more lenient insurance options should be researched and referred to for the benefit of our community.

Visiting a doctor, when needed, should not have to force a struggling family to pay money that they can’t afford. Especially when a qualified alternative was available at a fraction of the cost.

{Kollel Guy, Matzav.com Newscenter}


13 COMMENTS

  1. Zugst gut, so open one up! The other organizations give every single dingle detail you need to know, if your looking for a doctor that takes your insurance either they will ask the doctor to accept yours or give a different one.
    it looks like b”h you never needed to call them.

  2. They already do that! I went to Echo, told them what insurance I have, and they gave me a list of doctors who they recommend who take my insurance!

  3. They also should have special referral services for guys like ‘kollel guy’ who not only don’t have a regular basic insurance but also want the best doctors anyway (and then figure out how to pay or collect to pay) .

  4. Yes, Echo does do that already. And redsuxfan, no is spelled with an “O”, not an “I”. But thanks for being everyone’s spellcheck. BTW, Yanks are in the world series! haha!

  5. I once needed a difficult surgery in my family (details are not necessary) and I called one of the organizations who suggested only the top hospital in another city not covered by our insurance. I called my rov who told me that, the options in my hometown should not be undermined, and how insurance covering the surgery and being close to home are just as important.
    I took my rov’s advice against the judgment of the referal organization and boruch Hashem my rov was proven right!
    Bottom line- not every surgery needs the top doctor, and that’s why we have rabbonim- to help guide us when we can’t weigh the options ourselves.
    May Hashem save us from these difficult sheilos!

  6. This is a ridiculous post. One phone call to ECHO would confirm that they ask for your insurance info and use that to guide you. Unfortunately, I’ve had experience. Secondly, it’s not an obsession to see the best doctors- it’s what we Jews are required to do by Halacha. While we know that Hashem is the true Rofei Cholim, we all want the right Shaliach. Someone who is not known as a top person is less likely to be the right person.

  7. To #12:
    Perhaps they changed their tune or I just spoke to the wrong person,
    I’m glad they guided you according to your insurance.
    What happened is that I live out of town and they said they only know the NY doctors and some other very top out of town hospitals so they offered top doctors where I couldn’t go,
    In the end my own local rav was a huge help and also people in my city gave referals.
    It’s also possible these organizations now know more about out of town than they used to.
    I would say something I learned from different occassions. Boruch Hashem in my city we have frum anaestheseologists in some top hospitals.
    I was told to ask their advice since they work directly with the surgeons so their advice was invaluable to me.

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