Op Ed: Put Patients Ahead of Profits

I run a small solo medical practice in Kalispell, Montana. Being of the old-school opinion that quality care requires quality time spent, my patients have time to share with me their many concerns. That sharing periodically includes exorbitant medical bills received from a hospital visit or outpatient specialist visit. The billing is usually the same format because these specialists almost all work for the local hospital, and many hospitals and clinics have merged into one entity that serves more or less as a monopoly. Most patients have nowhere else to go.

Many patients decline needed special...