The Las Vegas Review-Journal did a fantastic piece defending the use of barter for medical expenses Sunday.
Not long ago, Nancy Burton paid for a medical checkup from Dr. Dana Forte by giving the physician tickets to her son Nathan’s comedy magic show at the Flamingo Las Vegas.
In other words, patient and doctor engaged in bartering, man’s first form of commerce.
“My uncle is a physician in Utah, and he really did get a chicken for his services once,” Forte said with a laugh Friday.
She was taking a break from her busy family practice in northwest Las Vegas to discuss bartering, a practice that Republican senatorial candidate Sue Lowden has made an issue in her campaign against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
“I love bartering. It’s been done forever in medicine. But you can’t do too much of it when you have bills,” Forte said.
See the full story at http://www.lvrj.com/news/bartering-has-its-limits-92037324.html
Thanks for the post, Tyler.
I was struck by a particular part from the story, because it reminds me of a disturbing issue that seldom gets mentioned by anyone in the barter industry……and I have often wondered why.
Quote:
“ITEX, the largest network of barter exchanges in North America, reported that in the last two years the demand for health care has jumped by more than 20 percent. The company, which includes 25,000 businesses, has 551 physicians and 618 dentists who participate in its 100 local barter groups.”
First off I am not picking on ITEX alone.
Fact is….. I refer 70% of my Barter Arbitrage students to ITEX….because over all I think they do a very good job in terms of creating a fairly diverse market place that is user friendly etc.
Here is an issue I see in almost every major trade exchange….
I have a real problem with doctors, dentists, and more recently a couple of plastic surgeons…..masquerading as members of barter when in fact……simple number crunching will reveal that several of these “members” use barter as a way to do a barter/cash mix that when you ad up the numbers will often make you sick to your stomach.
I have had two plastic surgeons quote cash prices that alone were equal to or more then what a certain procedure would cost…and to ad insult to injury they then tack on another large chunk of trade dollars and act like everyone who “barters” is a frigging idiot!
It’s beyond insulting…it’s just plain wrong. And exchanges that allow this to happen should be ashamed of themselves.
I don’t teach nor endorse my students to ever inflate. I teach them to buy low in the competitive cash world and sell at or slightly below retail prices in the trade world…and create fair margins.
Not only that, I tell my students….to offer products and services for 100% trade always….with FREE SHIPPING.
It’s good business…and your customers appreciate it.
Seems to me more then a few in the medical profession should follow our example. But many of them use “barter” as a way to squeeze a few extra drops of blood out of unsuspecting members who don’t realize that it aint what it appears to be in the listing.
I especially despise certain professionals who show up on trade….get everyone excited….until you get the “real deal.”
I have two emails from two separate plastic surgeons giving one of my students a price break down for “breast augmentation” surgery.
By the time we crunched the numbers…..I can assure you that the cash cost he was charging alone…. was about what it would cost period!!!
But of course…..there was several thousand more trade dollars added in too!
A breast procedure for the average woman runs x amount of dollars…..
These two clowns are bad for trade! And I can only imagine how many brokers have had pissed off clients who figure out real quick that they’re getting screwed….and ultimately “pass.”
Many in the medical field on barter……not only inflate….they are inflating the cash price and using the trade dollars as gravy.
It’s sickening. It’s wrong.
And nobody ever seems to mention that this is the type of “client”…..barter does NOT need.
I hope this industry isn’t so hard up for “blue chip medical professionals” that they basically let them get away with murder in terms of pricing…..because I have emails direct from the guilty parties involved that basically expose this scam…..and Vinnie aint no fool.
Neither was my student.
As is usually the case……I simply went another route……and found a plastic surgeon in Florida….and helped my student use a technique I teach called BARTER BRIBERY!
The plastic surgeon she wanted was NOT even a member of organized barter….didn’t want to be either…..but he liked fishing…loves high end fishing trips. Hint number one!
We sent him to Alaska on a fishing paradise….paid for with her highly leveraged trade dollars….but not INFLATED TRADE DOLLARS. And free shipping was included along the way…as she built up her account.
This particular fishing trip was an offer the doctor couldn’t refuse… because he was going to pay cash for that trip anyway…and because he had margins too!
HINT: MORE OF YOU BROKERS COULD USE THIS TECHNIQUE FOR YOUR GOOD CLIENTS….RATHER THEN TELLING THEM YOU CAN’T GET A PARTICULAR CLIENT…OR NONE IS AVAILABLE.!!!
You still make a commission , and you end up with a client who will love you forever.
I’ve only taught this to one broker….and have yet to see many other even attempt it. It’s not rocket science….and your client doesn’t get screwed in the process with “cash fees for this and that” etc.
I used this same technique with another young lady who was a member of barter and got sick and tired of her broker telling her he had no cosmetic dentist available on trade. 2 weeks later…..I barter bribed a dentist….and a well known Florida model got $6K in dental work done…and her uncreative broker didn’t make a dime simply because he couldn’t see past the status quo.
In the end, my first client got her surgery for about 80% less then she would have had to pay in real cash.
The plastic surgeon got a 7K fishing trip……for what amounted to his real cost of providing the service……aka….not much.
That was BARTER….baby. That’s how it should be. It aint rocket science either. This industry leaves so many deals on the table it’s almost sad.
Doctors and Dentists and Plastic Surgeons appear on trade….. get everyone excited ….until you realize a large percentage of them…..come with a lot of little fine print and usually a lot of cash in the mix…and when it’s said and done….it aint worth the trouble. Or the cost.
That aint barter. That’s a shake down.
Either you trade….or you don’t.
Some of these people get away with murder because of their fancy title or that degree on their door.
It’s no excuse to let them get away with it.
Rather….it’s easier to use barter to ‘BRIBE” SERVICE PROVIDERS…..who much like us….spend their dollars on something, don’t they? Find out what….and source it for your client. It’s not hard to do.
p.s. I am NOT speaking for all members in the medical profession on trade….but I am speaking about a whole lot of you…and you know who you are.
Those exchanges that endorse these “docs” should be ashamed of themselves….because you’re constructing an advertisement for “suckers” not clients.
Vegas Vince
Barter Arbitrage