Don't we have enough money for national healthcare? (financial, doctor)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thing is, most docs and other HC providers need the Medicare patient volume to stay viable. They pay little, but at least they help to keep the doors open. As they say, Medicare reimbursements have not kept up with the COL and typical office overheads. Back in the '90's we were saying that we'd better get some COL adjustments soon. And they barely if ever came. The '80's were our golden years. We would have no lack of internists today if they made what I made back then, not so simply adding in 40 years of inflation adjustments.
To drectly answer OP's query, no we don't have enough money for national healthcare. First we need to pay off the debt, have a surplus and then pay for national healthcare with the excess.
"The vast majority of non-pediatric office-based physicians accept new patients, with similar shares accepting new Medicare and privately-insured patients. Overall, 95% of office-based physicians accepted new patients in 2019. The share of physicians accepting new patients was similar for Medicare (89%) and private insurance (91%), with no statistically significant differences between the payers (Figure 1). "
It was 2022 when my PCP retired, and I sought recommendations from others who were satisfied with their PCP. I worked my way down the list, as I repeatedly got the "Not accepting new patients" response when I would call. I finally settled on one who is even older than I am, but would still accept a new patient. So I am good for now, but I could be going through this again sooner than later.
Thing is, most docs and other HC providers need the Medicare patient volume to stay viable. They pay little, but at least they help to keep the doors open. As they say, Medicare reimbursements have not kept up with the COL and typical office overheads. Back in the '90's we were saying that we'd better get some COL adjustments soon. And they barely if ever came. The '80's were our golden years. We would have no lack of internists today if they made what I made back then, not so simply adding in 40 years of inflation adjustments.
An increasing number of them are losing too much on Medicare patients and making the very difficult decision to longer accept Medicare. The reasons are given in the article I linked.
So, yeah... the Fed Gov is screwing up Medicare, too.
"The vast majority of non-pediatric office-based physicians accept new patients, with similar shares accepting new Medicare and privately-insured patients. Overall, 95% of office-based physicians accepted new patients in 2019. The share of physicians accepting new patients was similar for Medicare (89%) and private insurance (91%), with no statistically significant differences between the payers (Figure 1). "
Thing is, most docs and other HC providers need the Medicare patient volume to stay viable. They pay little, but at least they help to keep the doors open. As they say, Medicare reimbursements have not kept up with the COL and typical office overheads. Back in the '90's we were saying that we'd better get some COL adjustments soon. And they barely if ever came. The '80's were our golden years. We would have no lack of internists today if they made what I made back then, not so simply adding in 40 years of inflation adjustments.
That works until patients become a financial net negative. Then the volume angle becomes more of an illusion.
Still, a low-revenue patient would be better than a non-paying patient, or what could otherwise be empty appointment slots.
We love traditional Medicare patients in rehab facilities. If we could choose all patients that had traditional Medicare we’d take them all over Advantage plans or private insurance.
That works until patients become a financial net negative. Then the volume angle becomes more of an illusion.
As I posted it has been heading that way since the '90's. What happened around 2011 or so were a series of bonus reimbursements, like Medicare Wellness and such, that have helped pad primary care's overall potential collections. It is still headed that way, but I don't think a net negative yet.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
