FREE ESSAY ON DOCTORING THE TRUTH

DOCTORING THE TRUTH

Doctoring the Truth. The New Republic. Nov 15, 1999. P 13.
Is it ethical for doctors to bend the truth in order to get an insurance company to pay
for medical treatment? According to this article, most doctors do. A survey has shown
that 58% of doctors say that they would be willing to give an insurance company
"deliberately deceptive documentation" to influence the company's decision to approve
surgery or other treatment for a life-threatening illness.
These doctors believe that if they did not lie, their patients would receive sub-standard
health care. Insurance companies are continually looking for ways to reduce their costs,
and the most common way is to second-guess the doctors' opinions or to approve the
minimum treatments necessary. This has created a crisis in American medicine in which
doctors feel they must be dishonest with the insurance companies in order to be the "good
guy" to their patients. 
Does the end justify the mean? After all, these doctors seem to have a good reason for
lying. They are trying to help someone, right? But it does not make it morally and
ethically right. Lying is wrong, no matter what the reason is. Even though saving
someone's life seems to be a valid reason for bending the truth, it does not solve the
problem. It is unethical for a doctor to lie, even to an insurance company. Although 
HMO's and insurance companies need to be dealt with, lying is not the way to defeat them.
You should not lie to "beat the system." It solves nothing. Lying is a quick fix. It may
work on a case-to-case basis, but health care reform is the only permanent solution.
While we can condemn doctors for being untruthful, we also have to look at the flip side
- HMO's and other insurance companies who are trying to cut back costs, approving the
least expensive treatments and sometimes denying those claims that have real merit. These
companies do breed an environment where it is difficult for doctors to be completely
honest. Doctors are supposed to be looking after the interests of their patients, and
they sometimes see lying as the only way to skirt the policies of some HMO's.
The author takes the position that it is morally and ethically wrong for doctors to lie
to insurance companies. However, in the current health system, dishonest pays. This
creates a continuous cycle of corruption. The integrity of the medical community is at
stake - and patients have become the pawns. Health insurance companies have indeed
created the problem - but lying is not the answer. "This cycle of deception begetting new
rules begetting new deceptions could continue indefinitely." The author's opinion appears
unbiased. He presents the facts and both sides of the issue, and condemns them both. 
Perhaps someday we can agree upon a reasonable system where the needs of the patient come
before the wallet of the insurance company. Only then will doctors feel that they are not
obligated to lie and integrity will be restored to the American health system.