No Guilt

If your car needs gas and you do not have money, you can't buy gas. You wouldn't think of telling the gas station owner that you need to go to work and he should give you gas for free. If you want expensive new shoes and you have no money, you buy less expensive shoes. You would never go to the store owner and say that your old shoes are no longer good and hurt your feet and if he doesn't give you the new ones, he is causing you pain. If you want a big lunch but only have a few dollars, you need to buy a smaller meal. You do not ask the restaurant to give you a full dinner and if they do not, they are responsible for your hunger and they should be ashamed of themselves. As much as we do not want to believe it, healthcare is a business. Doctors need to pay rent and buy food. In the past week, I have been given a  "guilt trip" by patients that can not afford our fees. I tell them that if they only want to pay a copay, they have to go within their insurance plan. Since we are a specialty practice, we charge more because we offer more. That is when I am told that we don't care about people and want them to stay sick. I never argue. I just say that I am sorry they feel that way. They have the option of help within their plan but they want to come to my office. That is their choice, so I refuse to be the bad one.