ervices to provide. These rules can apply even when the patient’s life is at stake. Other terms prohibit the physician from disclosing how he or she is paid, especially when payment methods reward limiting referrals to patients. Why do HMOs want physicians to be less than honest with their patients? Because patients might demand care that would raise costs and reduce profits.According to Jeffrey Koplan, M.D., "Patients should learn how to become active participants in their own healthcare, which means taking part in decisions involving diagnosis and treatment." Koplan is the president of Prudential Center for Health Care Research which conducts research to evaluate and improve how healthcare is delivered to managed care customers. If all insured citizens were more aware of the actions of their HMO, then there would be a decline in the immoral policies. Also, there are few American citizens who are striving for a real cure. The current fashion is to impose incremental reforms. For instance, Congress passed a new program to finance healthcare reforms for some uninsured children. They are also attempting to push bills to make it difficult for HMOs to deprive people of needed care. These bills are a much-needed step in the right direction. However, none of these reforms address the underlying problem: The US healthcare system is driven by giant insurance conglomerates supplemented by an inadequate patchwork of public programs. These programs segment the population into unequal fragments: rich and poor, healthy and sick, young and old, unemployed and employed. There is no real solution, short of, creating one unified publicly funded system that treats everyone the same. Furthermore, the experience of other countries tells the United States that this kind of system can be highly successful.For instance, suppose a Canadian injures himself and the injury requires stitches. He or she would simply go the emergency room, sho...
