New Initiative from Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom Will Help Americans Get More Care for Less Cost
ST. PAUL, Minn.—Insurance isn’t what it used to be, nor does it fill the gaps it once did. Today, more patients are paying more out-of-pocket for their health care.
Big Insurance and Big Government have made coverage and care unnecessarily expensive, says Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org). CCHF has introduced The Wedge of Health Freedom (www.JointheWedge.com), a new way of doing health care that gives patients and doctors a roadmap to find each other and engage in a direct relationship, providing affordable and confidential patient care.
Wedge-like practices are already operating nationwide, but CCHF is branding this affordable option as “The Wedge of Health Freedom” to draw the public’s attention to the patient-centered, freedom-embracing slice of American health care that is mostly invisible to the public today.
“We aim to make the invisible visible, and then expand its reach,” said Twila Brase, president and co-founder of CCHF. “The Wedge will bring patients and doctors back together again for patient-friendly, pocketbook-friendly and privacy-friendly care. This is the ethical way health care was and what it must become again.”
CCHF has already heard from patients looking for practices that suit their needs—and budgets—within The Wedge of Health Freedom. For example, one couple who is healthy and in their 40s is looking forward to finding a doctor who operates under the eight Wedge principles.
“This couple,” Brase said, “has a health savings account that allows them to roll over unused funds from year to year and even into their retirement. If they use this money wisely, they will have more dollars available in their 60s and 70s, when their needs may be higher than today.
“They would love to find a doctor who would spend more time with them when they visit for typical ailments like a sore knee, back pain or the flu,” Brase continued. “It’s in their best interest to pay for a more complete office visit with a physician they can build a relationship with rather than for a quick chat with a doctor they do not know as well and may not see the next time. This relationship could save them time and money—and protect them from harm in today’s health care system. As more doctors sign up for The Wedge of Health Freedom, this couple—and many others—will be able to find a practice in their area that operates under Wedge principles.”
The online center for The Wedge, www.JointheWedge.com, allows doctors to join The Wedge, provides doctors with resources for escaping into The Wedge, and will soon give patients information on how to find these practices that incorporate the eight Wedge principles:
- Transparent and affordable pricing
- Freedom of choice
- True patient privacy
- No government reporting
- No outside interference
- Cash-based pricing
- A protected patient-doctor relationship
- All patients welcome
CCHF is a national patient-centered health freedom organization existing to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. For more information about CCHF, visit its web site at www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page or its Twitter feed @CCHFreedom. For more about The Wedge of Health Freedom, visit www.JointheWedge.com, The Wedge Facebook page or follow The Wedge on Twitter @wedgeoffreedom.