More Doctors Opting Out of Medicare. Should we worry?

[Bamaman]

Physicians are in business to treat people and get them well. They're so frustrated now that Medicare dictates to them how much they're going to pay for services, and they have to often fight Medicare to get them to pay for specific tests for their patients. Doctors get frustrated spending hours per week on the phone arguing with Medicare administrators--that are not even government employees.

And when they charge Medicare for a simple little CBC test (for white blood cells,) they receive virtually nothing for their time and their office's time.

Many doctors talk of refusing Medicare patients. But when it gets down to it, they'd be out of business trying to doctor the 20 and 30 year olds.

When doctors get to the point that they quit Medicare, they'll also be quitting being physicians. My wife already has one 55 year old doctor that's running a coffee shop in Memphis.

It's a shame that doctors never figured out they're middle class. The cost of keeping up a big house, two nice cars and sending the kids to private schools just about takes what most doctors make. Most physicians don't have the cash flow to 100% fund a substantial retirement program, and even fewer make good investment decisions. That causes doctors to work into their late 60's or 70's while their friends have retired 10-15 years earlier.

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW I've only been on Medicare for a month or so, but so far I am not impressed. I wish I could have stayed with my Aetna HMO. I do not have a warm fuzzy feeling about the doctors I'm finding available to me.

We're the same age. By going on Medicare and getting my ex-employer's Medicare Supplement, my paycheck just increased about $250 per month.

I still have superior health coverage than most of the public, and I am very thankful for that. As a type II diabetic and having a wife that had female cancer, we'd be uninsurable on the open healthcare market.

[ERhoosier]

I'm not on Medicare yet, but the '12 MedPAC study and 2013 Kaiser report describe a WHOLE lot rosier picture than the recent experiences of my older relatives in multiple regions of the country. Examples: One close relative of mine had a HUGE difficulty finding ANY orthopedist who would care for her (via ER referral) after she had a serious knee ligament injury falling on the ice. Another waited 2 months to see any neurologist accepting new Medicare patients. In the same regions, other younger relatives with private insurance needing same specialties were seen within a week. And those regions all have well over 90% of docs reportedly accepting new Medicare patients (according to Kaiser article).
BTW- Kaiser article is not new data but a "synthesis" of prior studies with some of the material presented dating back 5-6 years. The overall US healthcare market has changed markedly in that time, and possibly Medicare has too.