COSTLY PAPER MOUNTAIN

One of the biggest drivers of ever-more-expensive health care is the mounds of paperwork and the follow-up associated with billing insurance companies and patients. For instance, doctors must cope with some 7,500 insurance billing codes. A growing number of doctors are saying, "Enough! No more!" to this time-consuming, money-consuming drain.

In an informal Seattle-based network called SimpleCare, patients get their bills slashed up to 50% if they pay for their visit on the spot--no forms, no insurance claims, just cash on the barrelhead. Charges are determined only by the length of the visit. The network is ideal for people whose health insurance has large deductibles or who have no insurance at all.

Other physicians around the country are joining SimpleCare or, on their own or with others, are offering patients the same hassle-free payment options. Some labs, in conjunction with SimpleCare, are also providing customers substantial discounts on tests, since they, too, are eager to avoid the paperwork nightmare. SimpleCare tries to get patients discounts if they need to be referred to specialists or have to have tests such as CAT scans.

Ponder the fact that you can get such massive discounts in medical care by cutting out all the administrative hassle. The ultimate answer is for Congress to remove the severe restrictions on Medical Savings Accounts, which put patients instead of third parties in charge of health care resources.