Medicare patients complaining- didn't realize that Obamacare would make medicare worse (regular, March)
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Surgeons and some other specialists recently have tended to incur large Medicare cuts in reimbursements. So if you're one of these docs and very dependent on seniors for your bread and butter, you probably have a lot to **** and moan about. If you're like this surgeon who seems to have no such dependence, it does indeed sound like an agenda. But I believe one that needs to be pitched out for the general public to hear out and discuss.
A lot of gullible people in all age groups drank the koolaid.
They believed they would get better service even with their program being cut.
They believed they would get all this "free" preventative care and not see their premiums increase.
They believed that someone else was going to pay their bills.
And now you know why so many parts of Obamacare were put off, modified, extended until AFTER Obama got back into office.
Cooler heads, reason and logic took a back seat to heated emotions and fear mongering (dying in the streets).
We're slowing evolving into a banana republic similar to those found in central and south America.
Seniors have been indoctrinated into the Fairy Tale that AARP always has their best interests at heart.
They failed to understand that AARP is "Big Business" that only cares about their Corporate Bottom Line, which is Selling Insurance. They are much like the rest of the Country that believed the LIES of "You can Keep your Insurance", "You can keep your Doctor". They ignored the figures and ignored the back room Deals that made it clear that ObamaCare was only going to be good for the Big Business that cut the Deals with the Leftists.
My Mom has been lying in bed now for months with a collapsing Aorta, while she is on a Waiting List for everything - Cardiologists, required 2nd Opinion of another Cardiologist, waiting for the Panel to rule on her stint to keep her alive. Waiting on an opening date for the Hospital. Test after Test after Test - buckets of money to the Doctors who keep ordering the same Tests. Buckets of Money to the "Medicare funded group that comes by twice a week to take her blood pressure and make sure her oxygen tank is working. It's all such a scam.
She voted for Obama, probably twice ... those nice young people that came to her Senior Center to "help" her vote. It doesn't matter now whether the Seniors (and others) were "ignorant" and "uninformed" - what really matters at this point is whether she can get the urgent care she needs or not.
"Not" means she dies. Heavy price to pay for a "vote".
"that only cares about their Corporate Bottom Line, which is Selling Insurance.' i will add AND DRUGS.
I'm a Medicare patient. When I went to pick up my meds a couple weeks ago I discovered they were no longer covered. I've been on them for nearly 35 years. It was a relief when I turned 65 and they were again covered. (I pay $300/month towards extended/gap coverage so most everything is paid for.) That only lasted a few years. Medicare now covers $100 of the $400 cost. This isn't "feel good" medication. I need it to keep my brain tumor from growing. I guess I need to start buying from Canadian pharmacies again.
Yes, I knew Obamacare would take from Medicare. It was in the original proposal, iirc. I didn't get to vote. Did you?
I have noted a disturbing trend among our medicare patients. Obamacare heisted $750 billion from medicare, which made necessary cuts in payments for medicare patients, in order to make Obamacare "practical" (assuming young people signed up as well). This trend has been reflected in offices of other specialists as well (my father -an Obama supporter- now has to wait 4 months for a cardiology appointment that previously has a three week wait). We are finding it very difficult to obtain total hip and knee replacements for our medicare patients (previously there was no problem). Reimbursement, of course, for total joints was markedly reduced as of Jan 1st.
The cuts in medicare payments to providers and hospitals mainly involved specialists and many procedures- primary care visits actually experienced a small increase in reimbursement.
As a result of payment to specialists (50% for us), we have had to limit medicare slots for patients, or experience insolvency, due to fixed overhead payments. Our "wait time" for someone with regular insurance is one to two weeks; the same "wait time" for medicare patient is 3 months. Medicare patients, of course, are upset about delays. However, Obama promised such delays and cuts in medicare programs; many senior democrats, however, ignored Obama's warnings and voted for him into a second term.
Were seniors really this ignorant and misinformed? Did they believe that their votes would have no consequences for THEM and only other people?
Take home message- one does not improve the quality of care and access for patients by reducing $750 billion of support. If this was true, we could simply cut Obamacare funding $1 trillion and "make it better"!
Don't be an idiot when you vote.
The situation for seniors may very well get worse. We know that the ACA is anything but affordable, and it is not sustainable. Rationing is on the horizon and appears inevitable. If you're a senior, and anticipate needing anything done, get it done now.
UK Systematically Denies Surgery to Seniors
President Obama promised seniors that they would not suffer as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) moves to nationalize healthcare when it is fully implemented in 2015. But the UK’s experience demonstrates that nationalized care will still go bankrupt even if access to necessary surgical procedures is systematically denied to seniors.
The situation for seniors may very well get worse. We know that the ACA is anything but affordable, and it is not sustainable. Rationing is on the horizon and appears inevitable. If you're a senior, and anticipate needing anything done, get it done now.
UK Systematically Denies Surgery to Seniors
President Obama promised seniors that they would not suffer as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) moves to nationalize healthcare when it is fully implemented in 2015. But the UK’s experience demonstrates that nationalized care will still go bankrupt even if access to necessary surgical procedures is systematically denied to seniors.
So far Medicare has been too easy. Too easy to get testings, treatments, specialist referrals and surgeries. You don't have to call to get approval as per most private plans. And that's a large part of our over spending. This we hope will change with more evidence based decision making, but so far there has been no palpable change. Most likely the only rationing will be as it is now. With docs either taking on fewer Medicare patients or dropping out due to low reimbursements.
But not from primary care, as Medicare is now directing improved reimbursements.
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It doesn't matter now whether the Seniors (and others) were "ignorant" and "uninformed" - what really matters at this point is whether she can get the urgent care she needs or not.
