[Phillips:] Frustration over the nation's health care system is rising almost as fast as the cost. Now some doctors and patients are opting out of traditional insurance plans and turning to a cash payment system, it may be simpler and less expensive but it's not without risks. CNN's Chris Huntington joins us now from New York with the details Chris.
[Chris Huntington, Cnn Financial News Correspondent:] Kyra, well, some of the doctors that are doing this basically going to cash-only system say it sort of hearkens back to a Norman Rockwell-type era. It's all designed to cut costs and cut the hassle of healthcare.
[Huntington:] Long waits and short visits at the doctor's office seem to be making everyone sick. Dr. Levi Lehv is as fed up as his patients and he blames the health insurance system.
[Dr. Levi Lehv, Cash-only Doctor:] The reimbursements are very small. And in order for you to see to make a decent living you have to see a lot of patients.
[Huntington:] So the Dr. Lehv is taking matters into his own hands. He's one of a growing number of doctors who are opting out of the traditional insurance system and seeing patients who pay in cash, no reimbursements. Dr. Vern Cherewatenko is a pioneer of the so- called cash model and runs as program called Simple Care. It's a nationwide network of more than 1500 doctors.
[Dr. Vern Cherewatenko, Cash-only Doctor:] We created Simple Care, an educational program both for the physicians and the health care providers to learn how to implement cash-based practices in their office.
[Huntington:] Dr. Vern says the cash model eliminates much of the costly paperwork typical of most insurance plans and allows doctors to pass the savings on to patients. That's an immediate benefit, especially to those with no insurance.
[Fred Wilson, Uninsured Patient:] Because I'm paying, per visit a lot less. And that's attractive to me. The bottom line is being self-employed, you have to really look at the checks and balances.
[Huntington:] But critics point out when routine visits turn into something more serious, the costs rise quickly.
[Dr. Robert Berenson, Urban Institute:] A simple example of the $50 sore throat gets much more complicated if the doctor were to recommend, say, an MRI scan and that might cost $600 or $800.
[Huntington:] To reduce that risk, advocates of the cash system advise patients to carry catastrophic insurance for emergencies. But as the cost of comprehensive health insurance continues to rise, the idea of opting out and paying cash becomes more tempting.
[Cherewatenko:] We are definitely changing to a cash-based health care system, whether people want to acknowledge that or not, this system is coming, it's coming fast.
[Huntington:] Now, there has been a recent change to Federal Medical Savings Accounts which allows folks to roll over the money that they have not used in a given year to the following year. It used to be, use it or lose it. And that wasn't attractive because you never really could be quite sure of how many medical expenses you would run up in a given year. But now that you can roll over that account, the notion of going to a cash system, particularly for routine visits and low-impact ailments, if you will, is quite appealing. The bottom line here is make sure if you can get it in your state to have catastrophic insurance. You just don't want to be caught with a very serious ailment on a cash-only system Kyra.
[Phillips:] Good advice. Chris Huntington, thanks so much. Well, for more health news, you can always log on to cnn.comhealth. More LIVE FROM... right after a quick break.