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I personally, despite being a physician, need to have private commercial insurance (not medicare), as I have cancer. At the premier institutions in the US, you go to the bottom of the list for treatment if you have medicare. Thus, I will always have to work to maintain a good Blue Cross policy.
The elimination of pre-existing conditions with Obamacare is pure BS. They told me I would have to liquidate everything I have and get rid of it, so that I would qualify for MEDICAID through Obamacare and thus get coverage! What a bunch of crap.
Make no mistake of it. If there was "medicare for all", there would still be a two tiered medical system in the US. The premium care would still be delivered to those who can pay for it, and that does not mean medicare.
Blue Cross policies these days pay notoriously low. My wife is on such a plan and gets the same full and extensive treatment as my Medicare brethren and any other patient down at MD Anderson. Without Obamacare and covering her pre-existing, she would have cost us millions since 1/1/17. We had to liquidate or divest nothing! Well over $5M in bills, her insurance has paid out about 30% of that.
Too many seem to perceive Medicare is somehow free.
They don’t seem to grasp the premium, copays, deductible and Medicare only covers 80% of medical costs. It’s common for those enrolled in traditional Medicare to enroll in a private Medigap Plan to help pay for that which Medicare does not.
No medical practice is required to accept Medicare patients. While most do, most limit the number of Medicare patients. One is more likely to be seen by a physicians assistant or nurse practitioner than an MD and this increasingly includes specialities. This may or may not be a concern to the patient.
It can be challenging in some areas to find a practice accepting new Medicare patients. Some practice Concierge Medicine whereby the patient pays an annual fee upfront and out of pocket to be accepted as a patient.
Imagine lowering the eligibility age by 5 years will put a strain on practices in many areas of the US. There are some 44 million enrollees today. This is expected to grow to 79 million in 9 years. Gen X is right behind, followed by the millennial generation in 25 years.
Actually, Medicare patients are a lot of doctors' "bread and butter". It's well known that people get sicker as they get older, and need more health care as they age. (There are a few specialties that don't see a lot of Medicare patients, e.g. pediatrics, OB. Perhaps ortho has a lower % of elderly patients.)
I never heard of this practice of shunting Medicare patients to NPs and/or PAs. Do you have some documentation?
Congierge practice is a small fraction of practices.
Would also like to see some documentation that Medicare enrollment is expected to almost double in 9 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoonose
Blue Cross policies these days pay notoriously low. My wife is on such a plan and gets the same full and extensive treatment as my Medicare brethren and any other patient down at MD Anderson. Without Obamacare and covering her pre-existing, she would have cost us millions since 1/1/17. We had to liquidate or divest nothing! Well over $5M in bills, her insurance has paid out about 30% of that.
My husband is on Medicare with an AARP (United Health Care) supplement. While I have nothing to compare his cancer treatment to, the care appears to follow the standards of practice.
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