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MEdicare by far has lower administrative costs.. and is easier to deal with. The problem for some doctors is that they dont pay out as much as some of the other insurers do. Great Day will say his Dr. dropped itbecause of the paperwork... .
No, I won't say "my doctor" dropped - because, he didn't. Please, try not to misrepresent my posts. You do this frequently and it is quite annoying and disingenious to a fair discussion of the issue.
I said, I know a number of Doctors, nationwide, who have dropped Medicare / Medicaid because of numerous reasons - re-imbursment schedules are part of the reason. They (these doctors) can't afford, financially, to take Medicare patients anymore. The paperwork is another reason. Another reason is the time it often takes to get paid - upwards to 12 months in some cases.
I trust you will not misrepresent what I posted again.
No, I won't say "my doctor" dropped - because, he didn't. Please, try not to misrepresent my posts. You do this frequently and it is quite annoying and disingenious to a fair discussion of the issue.
I said, I know a number of Doctors, nationwide, who have dropped Medicare / Medicaid because of numerous reasons - re-imbursment schedules are part of the reason. They (these doctors) can't afford, financially, to take Medicare patients anymore. The paperwork is another reason. Another reason is the time it often takes to get paid - upwards to 12 months in some cases.
I trust you will not misrepresent what I posted again.
Hmm.. they can't afford it probably because they have a huge staff to deal with the private insurance and fighting them to get what the patient needs.
My Dr. said with UHI he could cut his staff down frmo 10 to 3 for billing and administrative!! His patients are 40% medicaid adn that paperwork is the easy paperwork.. most of his staff deals with the 60% other patietns with 150 different payors..etc.
Oh.. and part of why some of this medicare stuff is complicated is because.. guess what.. they are tied into private.. you have blue cross/blue sheild medicare..etc. etc. etc.
Those Dr's COULD afford it if they didnt' have to hire so much staff to deal with the nonsense of private health insurance AND havem ore time to see patietns rather than fight private insurance carriers.
Would you be willing to have, say a $50 co-pay to go to your doctor AND, say, a $5,000 deductible on major medical?
Guess what Great Day.. I have a $40 copay for my specialist and $20 for my primary care and my sons. I also pay a copay for my prescriptions and I do have a deductable of $1000 for emergency type stuffl..like surgery etc. OH.. and then I still pay nearly $800/month!!
I would take a higher deductable and have sought insurance that would do that ..b ut in the end it saved me only a little over $100.. PLUS.. I really can't afford to have a high deductible. I never have that much money in my hand at one time.. too busy using my money to pay my ridiculous premium and all my bills.. cause remember.. Im' unable to save. and I don't have "luxuries"...
No. I'd be willing to do awy with the premium and pay higher taxes to have all my medical covered.. And I wouldnt mind still having copays for Dr. visits and meds along with those taxes..
I think the main problem here is . . . people really do not understand how insurance works . . . nor do they understand hospitals or physician practices work . . . and how they make $$$. And what kinds of losses they take.
I totally agree...lack of understanding. In many areas of the country, certain physicians refuse to contract with insurance companies, because in so doing, they would have to negotiate an agreed amount to charge. If they were the only doc in a 100 mile radius, they would never contract. They would always want to stay out-of-network so they can charge usual and customary. This happens a lot in the very sparsely populated areas like New Mexico. If they would not want their pay to be regulated by contracting, which by the way is already on the average of 125% of RBRVS , a valuation system based on Medicare, imagine what they would do under UHI. They would leave their practice or leave the area. So what happens to those people who are counting on these very few and far in between providers?
A $50 co pay and $5000 deductable would be way to high for my income level. I currently have a $20 co-pay and no deductable for major hospitalization. There is a $50 co pay for emergency room if not admitted to the hospital. Drug co-pays vary betwen $7 and $20 depending on the drug. These are affordable but do cut into what remains of my disposable spending.I just had a tooth crowned which has cut into and mayby canceled my summer vacation. You proposed co pay and deductable are just too much for my household and would be far worse for a family making less than mine. I propose a co pay of $20 for doctor visits and nothing for involuntary hospitalization.
As an example you may remember from another post, I buy used cars and keep them forever. No matter how much I would like to get a new car there is no way I can afford to buy or lease a $12,000 to $20,000 vehicle let alone a luxury car.
Would you be willing to have, say a $50 co-pay to go to your doctor AND, say, a $5,000 deductible on major medical?
WHich, may I add, are the terms of my policy. That is how I have handled my situation.
To anyone who makes statements such as - "I would be willing to pay more taxes to get better health coverage," may I ask - how can you afford to pay more taxes if you can't afford to pay your premiums now?
Last edited by brokensky; 02-26-2008 at 10:34 AM..
Reason: edit
Hmm.. they can't afford it probably because they have a huge staff to deal with the private insurance and fighting them to get what the patient needs.
ummm - no -
Quote:
Originally Posted by TristansMommy
My Dr. said with UHI he could cut his staff down frmo 10 to 3 for billing and administrative!! His patients are 40% medicaid adn that paperwork is the easy paperwork.. most of his staff deals with the 60% other patietns with 150 different payors..etc.
I was referring to medicare TM - that they dropped medicare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TristansMommy
Oh.. and part of why some of this medicare stuff is complicated is because.. guess what.. they are tied into private..
ummm - no, that is not the problem
Quote:
Originally Posted by TristansMommy
you have blue cross/blue sheild medicare..
Ah, no I don't. I have BC/BS. I can't get medicare. I withdrew from Social Security
Quote:
Originally Posted by TristansMommy
Those Dr's COULD afford it if they didnt' have to hire so much staff to deal with the nonsense of private health insurance AND havem ore time to see patietns rather than fight private insurance carriers.
Again, they have small staffs. Small re-imbursements means less dollars TM. They can't afford to run their practices on the small dollars medicare pays.
Guess what Great Day.. I have a $40 copay for my specialist and $20 for my primary care and my sons. I also pay a copay for my prescriptions and I do have a deductable of $1000 for emergency type stuffl..like surgery etc. OH.. and then I still pay nearly $800/month!!
I would take a higher deductable and have sought insurance that would do that ..b ut in the end it saved me only a little over $100.. PLUS.. I really can't afford to have a high deductible. I never have that much money in my hand at one time.. too busy using my money to pay my ridiculous premium and all my bills.. cause remember.. Im' unable to save. and I don't have "luxuries"...
No. I'd be willing to do awy with the premium and pay higher taxes to have all my medical covered.. And I wouldnt mind still having copays for Dr. visits and meds along with those taxes..
I can't afford my $5000 deductible, either. So you know what I have to do? Put in on credit cards.
Provision of healthcare is not a freebie - it costs to provide services - and why Americans think it should be - amazes me.
Guess what Great Day.. I have a $40 copay for my specialist and $20 for my primary care and my sons. I also pay a copay for my prescriptions and I do have a deductable of $1000 for emergency type stuffl..like surgery etc. OH.. and then I still pay nearly $800/month!!.
No, what I am asking is, and let me try to make my question really clear -
Although you would pay higher taxes for UHI, would you be willing to also pay, say $50.00 per office visit AND have, say, a $5,000 deductible on major medical?
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