Medicare in Alaska (Anchorage, Bethel, Nome: travel, hospitals, services)

[MDTAZ]

Hey Guys I use to live in Anchorage in the 70s at Elmendorf AFB

I would like to visit and show my wife Alaska on a visit.

I hear the Drs don`t take Medicare --both of us are on it.

Is this true?.

[Aerobars]

It's not that there aren't any doctors who take medicare. The biggest issue is there aren't many primary care physicians who are accepting new medicare patients into their practices (for regular visits, etc). Depending on the overhead for the practice, it is possible to lose money seeing medicare patients, therefore doctors have to limit the number of medicare patients or go out of business.

This might be a concern if you want to move there. If, however, you are going for a visit, emergency departments are required by law to evaluate and stabilize patients regardless of their ability to pay (it's called EMTALA). So long as there is a hospital to go to, you shouldn't worry.

If you're going to the bush, well, your more likely problem is not having any doctors or hospitals at all.

[MDTAZ]

Thanks - for now we want to just visit..

[Sunset_Va]

This might be a concern if you want to move there

That would be a big concern of mine since I am on Medicare and cancer survivor, thanks for answering this thread .

[User 2]

Medicare is not to be confused with Federal Emergency Care minimal standards.

Evaluating and stabilizing a patient is not to be mistaken for availability of all possible Medicare services.

Once the minimum standards of evaluation and stabilization under the Fed requirements have been met, referral will depend on whether such services are available at all, (many are not), or if they are available, whether they will be offered without additional cost to a Medicare dependent patient is not a sure thing.

Rather than relying on assurances from an individual on a public message board, if it was a concern of mine, I'd want a bit more information before I headed out, if the possibility of needing Medicare dependent health care is of much concern.

Myself, I'd fire off some emails and ask Medicare representatives some pointed questions about coverage where I intended to travel,

.....and I might even suggest looking into some of the State health care sites for some more clearly delineated answers.

I do know that Medicare coverage is limited in the case of foreign travel, and in a state like Alaska, it's not unlikely that one may find themselves far from any total coverage one may be used to in a more populous state.

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11037.pdf

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11152.pdf

Main page Medicare

Medicare.gov - The Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare

Contact page Medicare

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[Aerobars]

Good post. I agree with the points the prior poster made and was not attempting to make false assurances. In mentioning EMTALA all I said was they must evaluate and stabilize, I suppose "within their capacity to do so" should have been explicitly added.

The concerns of an average elderly couple who want to visit anchorage as compared with an elderly couple who between them have diabetes, COPD, a glioblastoma, a pacemaker, liver transpant, and kuru and want to spend time outside Nome will be quite different. Evaluate your own personal cicumstances. Things you want to consider are 1) what medical care do you regularly need? 2) What medical care might you need on an emergency basis? 3) How long are you going to be gone?

I can't help you with any such advice on a public forum, but other resources to consider are contacting your primary care provider and asking him or her travel questions related to your health as well as medical facilities in the vicinity of where you will be visiting. Ask the hospitals what services are available. They will probably tell you they can handle an emergency appendectomy but scheduling a chemo dose or radiation fraction isn't going to be possible. Another good question to ask medicare is about coverage of air transit costs in case of an emergency (example: Bethel to Anchorage), I don't know medicare's policies about fixed wing air transit.

As I stated the biggest concern will be the availability of resources, not that there are physicians and they simply don't accept medicare and will let you die of appendicitis on the streets of Anchorage.

[MDTAZ]

Thanks for the great suggestions will check out the sites for sure and call Medicare too.