Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 53, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1908 — The Medical Fee. [ARTICLE]

The Medical Fee.

Dr. Arthur C. Heffenger, discussing “The Medical Fee” in the North American Review, deplores the notion which prevails in some quarters that the physician charges more for bis services than they are worth. He Instances some abnormally large fees which have been paid to medical men and shows that these were justified either by the delicate nature of the services rendered or by unusual conditions attending them. He says:

“The American Medical association, our highest medical authority, has never attempted to establish an ethical fee. In point of fact, the fee evolves itself and ever has been and ever will be a graded one. The great bulk of practice is practically charity—that is. it represents small fees or no fees. This is true alike in the remote country districts and in the great metropot itan centers. There is one difference, however, whici, should be distinctly remembered, and that is that rural charity is generally deserved, whereas urban charity is often misplaced. It is stated that practically 33 per cent of the entire practice of New York city is charity and that in a third of such cases the doctor is Imposed upon."