Time to regulate and see reduction on Doctors Fees, Dental Costs & Vets Fees ?

MrEarl

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Hello,

While I appreciate that I'm referring to categories of highly educated people, many of whom studied for a long time and deserve to earn a good living as a result of this ....

I strongly believe that it's time that: Doctors, Dentists & other types of medical professionals, along with Vets were both regulated and forced to reduce their fees. When I refer to regulation, I don't mean in the sense of regulating their performance in their specialist field as I think this is already catered for - but more, that they be regulated, in terms of the fees they charge, the fact that they should have to advertise their fees outside their place of work and that there should be some form of independent party who gets a say on what they can put their prices up to.

Experience time and time again over the years as shown me that:

- Almost none of the professionals in the categories I've mentioned, publish their list of fees somewhere that I can review them, prior to entering their premises and most likely, becoming their customer (save for Smile Dental, who I thankfully discovered a year or two back).

- No independent party seems to have any influence or control over what they charge their customers and I've not seen any real competition on prices, unless one opts to go outside of RoI ... I read regularly about significant cost saving opportunities, if you take your business to Northern Ireland for example, while traveling to mainland Europe appears to offer furher savings (easier said than done, when you need a vet in a hurry for example !).

What do people think, is it time there were independent regulators or review boards in place, to monitor pricing at the various professional offices mentioned and perhaps have to approve price increases etc ?

Thanks

Mr. Earl.
 
Price Controls are a bit too 'Communist' for my liking but the current pricing models of these professions (they all charge roughly the same) suggest there is no competition.
And Regulators in this country have hardly got a good track record. So no more quango's/empire building as far as I'm concerned.

Supply is the issue IMO....points are too high for school leavers to study these professions as the number of students is constrained. Open up that bottleneck, and allow those that qualify to practice whereveer they want in the country.....and then you'll have compeition
 
Price Controls are a bit too 'Communist' for my liking but the current pricing models of these professions (they all charge roughly the same) suggest there is no competition.
And Regulators in this country have hardly got a good track record. So no more quango's/empire building as far as I'm concerned.

Supply is the issue IMO....points are too high for school leavers to study these professions as the number of students is constrained. Open up that bottleneck, and allow those that qualify to practice whereveer they want in the country.....and then you'll have compeition
I agree.

A very large proportion of their income comes from the state. Cut those payments and open up the market. Thats the soliution
 
Hello,

Thank you both for your replies.

While interesting to read other opinions, perhaps learn a little from them etc I do find myself concerned though .... that if they were to drop the points required to study medicine, for example - would we risk having lower quality ?

The suggestion about the State cutting payments to some of the categories of professionals mentioned, makes a lot of sense ... but is it really going to happen (particularly under our current Minister for Health ?) ?

I'd have said we've thousands of doctors (general practicioners) and vets in Ireland, operating private practices so in theory we have plenty of competition - but ultimately, I see them as permitted to charge what they want, without question or challenge and suffice to say, we're at their mercy if we're in pain and they've elected to charge us too much for their services ... hence, I see some sort of governence required.

Regards

Mr. Earl.
 
Health service are not very price sensitive; people don’t shop around on price.
There is a limited supply of GP’s and all of them, whether they have a medical card list (GMS) or not, receive a substantial proportion of their income from the state.
The payments for services should be cut but the amount of administration they have to do in order to deal with the HSE should also be looked at so that their costs are lowered at the same time as their income being cut. A large part of the reason for the higher costs of primary healthcare services in Ireland relative to most of the rest of Europe is our higher insurance costs, higher rents, higher utility costs and higher wage costs for support staff (practice nurses, receptionists, practice managers etc). It’s not all down to the GP trousering wads of cash (although many do).

The government has no place fixing prices and should stay out of the healthcare market completely (they shouldn’t directly fund, own or run any healthcare service.
 
Health service are not very price sensitive; people don’t shop around on price.
There is a limited supply of GP’s and all of them, whether they have a medical card list (GMS) or not, receive a substantial proportion of their income from the state.
The payments for services should be cut but the amount of administration they have to do in order to deal with the HSE should also be looked at so that their costs are lowered at the same time as their income being cut. A large part of the reason for the higher costs of primary healthcare services in Ireland relative to most of the rest of Europe is our higher insurance costs, higher rents, higher utility costs and higher wage costs for support staff (practice nurses, receptionists, practice managers etc). It’s not all down to the GP trousering wads of cash (although many do).

The government has no place fixing prices and should stay out of the healthcare market completely (they shouldn’t directly fund, own or run any healthcare service.

Well said. Price controls have always failed and would only result in a shortage of supply. Prices are a result of supply and demand, and as you me ruin the supply of doctors is kept low artificially. This of course suits the GPs who are usually the ones most outspoken about reducing the points needed.
However, I find it an insult to my intelligence to suggest that you can tell by leaving cert points whether someone is suitable to be a GP or VRT or doctor. There are plenty of highly I tell invent people who do badly in their leaving Cerys due to dislexia, learning difficulties or simply having a few bad teachers.
 
Well said. Price controls have always failed and would only result in a shortage of supply. Prices are a result of supply and demand, and as you me ruin the supply of doctors is kept low artificially. This of course suits the GPs who are usually the ones most outspoken about reducing the points needed.
However, I find it an insult to my intelligence to suggest that you can tell by leaving cert points whether someone is suitable to be a GP or VRT or doctor. There are plenty of highly I tell invent people who do badly in their leaving Cerys due to dislexia, learning difficulties or simply having a few bad teachers.

Posted from an iPad or iPhone with predictive texting? :D
 
In addition to dramatically reducing state subvention, medicine courses should be opened up, and become fully funded by tuition fees.

Doctors / vets / opticians, and indeed lawyers and accountants should be made to publish a schedule of their fees to ensure that there is a much greater degree of price competition within the professions
 
Doctors / vets / opticians, and indeed lawyers and accountants should be made to publish a schedule of their fees to ensure that there is a much greater degree of price competition within the professions

How do you do that in respect of accountancy, where there is a massive range of billable tasks and assignments? Are you suggesting mandatory hourly billing and the effective outlawing of value pricing?
 
While I appreciate that I'm referring to categories of highly educated people, many of whom studied for a long time and deserve to earn a good living as a result of this ....

I just read this again and I disagree with your point; nobody deserves to earn a good living simply by virtue of the time they spend studying. The market sets pay levels. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it should be. How long someone spent studying matters only in the context of the value of the skills they acquired while studying.
 
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