It should be easy to get a good doctor. After all, many young medical hopefuls spend several hard and exhausting years going to school to do a job they love, right? Even if that is true, and there is no doubt that it is for most, it is still hard for many people to find a good doctor.
One of the challenges standing in the way of finding good health care is the health insurance companies that doctors will accept. Most people who have health insurance still have to pay a large portion of their doctor bill. To make matters worse you can't even pick the doctor you want to see. Most insurance companies have a short list of doctors that will take that particular insurance. This narrows the field of quality providers immensely. You must look down the list and hope you will find someone who genuinely cares about their patient, and is not over crowded or no longer accepting patients. Regardless of whether or not you find someone you like, you still have to go to the doctor. You still have to pay a co-pay in most cases.
Another area you don't have an option in is specialty care. In many cases doctors must refer you to a specialist if one is needed. Again, the specialist must take your particular insurance. There is probably a guarantee that you won't even get a list to look at in this case. Whichever specialist your doctor wants to send you to is where you will go.
Wouldn't it be nice if people with health insurance had more choices? If you are going to have to pay for something, even in part, your opinion should matter. Wouldn't it be nice if you could choose your own doctor, and that doctor would accept your insurance, no matter what kind of insurance you had. Since life doesn't work like that it is a good idea to interview potential health care providers in order to get a good idea of who would best fit your family.
