Fees payable by urban, rural and genuinely needy people

[Guest guest]

Hi All, & Hi Everett

 

Everett Churchill wrote:

> ... many treatment protocols call for very frequent and multiple

> treatments, and charging this " X " $/treatment is prohibitive for

> many ... of my modest patient list. ... I live in rural Minnesota..

> Everett Churchill

 

This is the old (and international) problem of urban v rural incomes,

and what should practitioners charge genuinely needy people for

their time/services. A practitioner in North Hollywood, Mayfair

(London), or central Sydney would have a very different fee-

structure from one in Nepal, the Amazon jungle, or the shanty

towns of developing nations.

 

A basic law of economics (and value for money) is based on the

principle of the " going rate " , i.e. " what the market will bear " .

 

IMO, all practitioners should have a fixed base rate (price/session)

for Tx. Additional costs may be added for lab tests, medications,

etc.

 

Fixed session fees are needed mainly to avoid client disquiet if

they hear that different clients pay different fees for the same

service. However, a practitioner may WAIVE fees for, say 1

session in 3, or 1 session in 2, if individual clients need multiple,

frequent sessions. In that case, I say: " That one was on the

house " , or " that one was in the name of God " . [i often talk about

God to my clients, and attribute all healing to Vix Naturae, behind

which lies the immense power and love of the Creator].

 

If a person really needs treatment, but cannot pay, I might treat " on

the house " . I see this as putting something back into society, or as

a form of penance for my sins and failures - to accumulate some

" brownie points " for my own account with St. Peter. At some stage

soon, I will have that inevitable interview at the Pearly Gates!

 

However, self-respecting peolpe do not want to feel like helpless

" charity cases " . They MUST be given a chance to make at least a

token gesture for services received. Money-poor people may be

able to bring some token gift - a bag of potatoes, a chicken, a

cake, a bottle of moonshine, etc - as a form of barter. That is

essential for their own self-esteem. Sometimes, as payment to me,

I ask them to pray for my loved ones, and to do some defined

social work - visit someone in hospital, an old neighbour, etc, or to

give comfort and support to someone who needs it.

 

We all need to live, and professionals need payment for their time

and services, but we do not have to charge for everything that we

do for others. They can " pay us back " in many ways that do not

need money!

 

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

 

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