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MANY doctors are not taking "any new Medicare patients" in our area,...simply because the reimbursement many time does not even cover the cost of treatment, much less the cost of services. It's ironic that given the poor reimbursement by Medicare, this administration wants to severely cut Medicare by billions of dollars anyway. Obama says there is waste and fraud in Medicare,...so why is he waiting until the obamacare bill is passed to stop it? If the problem has been identified, then eliminate it NOW instead of using it as a campaign slogan for his socialized medicine bills.
If Medicare is the government's shining example of the new socialized medicine, then America is in for a real surprise.
Good points. Us seniors are paying close attention to the situation.
I agree and it is not self serving since we all will be on it at some point. There is rampant fraud in Medicare that the government should be seriously cracking down on if they would do that they would save more an possibly be able to pay better.
The system needs reform I do tend to lean more towards helping older people with insurance costs over younger ones. I feel that our older Americans deserve good, low cost coverage. In a perfect world we all could have that but I fear a government plan would become over run with fraud just like Medicare has.
I'm old and would give my medicare to a kid without insurance if that were possible.
Really? Everyday we have a patients come in presenting us with their red, white, and blue medicare card. Guess what? They don't have Medicare. They are enrolled in a medicare HMO. Some are not too happy to hear that they need a referral from their primary to see a specialist. It is even more interesting when they say they don't have a primary doctor. We call for them and tell them which doctor was assigned to manage their care.
Really? Everyday we have a patients come in presenting us with their red, white, and blue medicare card. Guess what? They don't have Medicare. They are enrolled in a medicare HMO. Some are not too happy to hear that they need a referral from their primary to see a specialist. It is even more interesting when they say they don't have a primary doctor. We call for them and tell them which doctor was assigned to manage their care.
I think "no problem" in that context meant "are happy with", not "are having problems with enrollment".
They are not happy that Medicare allows the switch of their traditional benefits without any checks or balances.
I dont know about that -- could you explain what you mean? people are switched against their will, arent told... what? -- but once they get enrolled properly in it they may become part of the 94% who are happy with it. Or not!
I dont know about that -- could you explain what you mean? people are switched against their will, arent told... what? -- but once they get enrolled properly in it they may become part of the 94% who are happy with it. Or not!
Many of our patients had their benefits switched when they attended free luncheons given throughout our city by various insurance companies. I assume they must have given someone their Medicare identification numbers but all swear that they never signed any document authorizing the switch.
I am curious to know if the 94% that are happy have private insurance also that covers the remained of the costs Medicare does not. I know my parents have private insurance that picks up that Medicare does not pay or pays if they go to a doctor that does not take Medicare.
With out the name 'Mayo' the story wouldn't even be reported; Fact is it's happening in private clinics and practices all over. Our GP (small rural community practice/limited equipment/low overhead) welcomes medicare patients and will even barter with poor folks while the specialists we see in Austin (large urban practice/latest modern equipment/much higher overhead) won't accept new medicare patients until a current one moves away or dies. The way they explained it to me is they can only afford a limited number of charity cases. I guess it's just a harsh fact caused by low medicare rates. IMO the scary part is the national plan(s) currently under discussion move us all closer to the medicare model- especially with single payer/public option.
Dano
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