Doctors Begin To Refuse Obamacare Patients

Well many people knew about these problems and warnings were posted and sluffed off as sensationalism and Obama.Care.Bashing.

We see more and more health insurance policies purchased on the Exchanges that have very narrow networks and therefor make things very difficult for patients to get "access to" healthcare without paying extra fees for "out-of-network" facilities and doctors.

Many doctors and facilities are actually turning away "new" patients.

Here's another example of how inefficient the Obama.Care exchange policies can be.

Warnings have been discussed and now we see the possible discrimination.

The insurance policies bought from "Exchanges" seem to be sub-standard in many ways compared to privately bought and employer provided 'policies".

How many victims with specific pre-existing conditions will be zonked out of their policy's brand new "Network" ?

Big problem. But we CAN read right ?

Obamacare plans have shrunk payments to physicians so much that some doctors say they won’t be able to afford to accept Obamacare coverage, NPR reports.

Many of the eight million sign-ups in Obamacare exchanges nationwide already face more limited choices for physicians and hospitals than those in the private insurance market. But with low physician reimbursement rates, the problem could get even worse. ....

Narrow networks have become a hallmark of many Obamacare exchange plans, as one of few options left to insurance companies that allows them to save money by lowering reimbursement rates and covering fewer providers. In the health-care law’s first year, 70 percent of all Obamacare plan networks were either narrow or ultra-narrow, according to an analysis from consulting firm McKinsey.

Doctors Begin To Refuse Obamacare Patients

How *Narrow* is YOUR Network ?

A lot of doctors (at least in my area) were not taking Medicaid and Medicare already because they didn't make enough from it... Why did anyone think it would be any different with Obamacare??

People are waking up now, the only problem is, is that it's too late to do anything about it at this point. Folks never learn. They still believe in "free lunches" and probably even Santa Claus as well judging from the voting population's IQ.

It's only going to get worse.

a reply to: xuenchen

Obamacare plans have shrunk payments to physicians so much that some doctors say they won’t be able to afford to accept Obamacare coverage

vs.

Narrow networks have become a hallmark of many Obamacare exchange plans, as one of few options left to insurance companies that allows them to save money by lowering reimbursement rates and covering fewer providers.

Sounds more like insurance companies are to blame, to me. Again. Like when they refused to cover people in the past because of "preexisting conditions."

a reply to: xuenchen

The hospital where my husband works is a Critical Access Facility. This is a small rural community and this small hospital serves thousands of people spread out over a very wide area. People rely upon this hospital in order to stabilize them in case of a severe accident and for less severe circumstances when it is difficult for them to drive the 50 miles to the next nearest facility.

The hospital was barely surviving before the ACA in large part because Medicaid and Medicare only pay a portion of any given diagnostic exam. Literally, they reimburse cents on the dollar in some cases. The last few months have seen a steady and increasingly large decline in how much reimbursement this hospital receives. The facility is underwater and only going deeper. It will likely close within a year. My husband is looking for employment elsewhere. The community itself may not survive the closing of the hospital because it was the largest employer in the area. It may take a few years, but if you come back in about ten this place will likely be a ghost town. It is very sad.

I suppose that is one way to drum people out of those "wild" places where they don't want us to be; just deny them healthcare in that area. That is another issue though I suppose.

As Obamacare is ALL insurance policies, the Doctor is going to be twiddling his thumbs until a patient comes in with a Chicken.

But lets look at the Original Source for The Daily Callers article...

For a typical quick visit like this, Gerard could get reimbursed $100 or more from a private insurer. For the same visit, Medicare pays less — about $80. And now, with the new private plans under the Affordable Care Act, Gerard says he would get something in between, but closer to the lower Medicare rates. That's not something he's willing to accept.

A Doctor's Perspective On Obamacare Plans

How many of these "joint pain" patients does he see an hour? Let's say two, although obviously it could be more.

What he is saying is, he is unwilling to work for just over $160 an hour.

My heart bleeds.

a reply to: Greven

Sounds more like insurance companies are to blame, to me. Again. Like when they refused to cover people in the past because of "preexisting conditions."

*Blame* is out of date now.

It's the law itself.

Why does anyone suppose they "missed" these anomalies ?

Many people were 100% convinced this whole Obama.Care deal would work oh-so-well.

Now what?

a reply to: BritofTexas

Doesn't matter anymore.

The lawmakers missed the boat.

Did anyone actually expect doctors and private facilities to just hush up and go broke ?

Narrow networks... that's an understatement!

We self-pay for our insurance because my husband is self-employed. I have pre-existing conditions, so prior to Obamacare was paying a HUGE amount every month for my insurance, which was offered through our state for people with pre-existing conditions.

When Obamacare came along, I was told I was losing my insurance because the program would no longer exist. So, like many others I was one of those who didn't have the option of keeping previous insurance.

Fine. It was really expensive, but the coverage was excellent.

So I sign up our family to all be under a new plan with the affordable care act in place. I won't even go into all the drama with that. Website never worked, no one knew anything on the phone, it was an absolute disaster. I knew we wouldn't qualify for any subsidies so I was told I could apply directly to an insurance company rather than using the official government website.

Great.

So I applied for covered for our family through Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They had been our insurer before, so I was somewhat familiar with them. The problem was, at this time they didn't have any of their networks online - meaning you couldn't look up and see if a particular doctor was in-network or not. I ended up getting a PPO Gold Basic plan. It wasn't the cheapest, so I thought it should be OK. I had no concept of the networks being "narrow"... I stupidly thought a BC/BS PPO network (a "gold" one at that) would be widely accepted.

Finally, we had our new coverage - just in time as my old coverage was disappearing. Well, it turns out that PPO Gold Basic was HORRIBLE. Our kids pediatrician was NOT in network. My primary care doctor - NOT in network. Husband's doctor - NOT in network. My specialist - NOT in network. My OB/GYN (did I mention I had just become pregnant - eek!) - NOT in network. In fact, the entire hospital that is literally 5 minutes from our house was NOT In network. The keyword was "basic"... doctor after doctor told me they didn't accept the basic plans.

So they weren't covering anything. We were paying $1200 per month for health insurance that covered NOTHING. Once during this period, I had to take a child in for an ear infection, and a 5 minute office visit cost $200. Her medicine cost more on top that.

There was only one hospital in-network in our area, and it was 1 1/2 hours away, and pretty rinky-dink.

No doctors, no hospitals were taking the BC/BS basic plans.

What on earth is the point of insurance if no one accepts it?

I called BC/BS and explained the situation. (Mind you, it took several days to get to speak to a human being... their system seemed to always be down during this time.) I told them how when I purchased insurance I wasn't able to see the networks, because they weren't online at the time. I begged them to let me switch plans. (Something they said they don't normally allow until one policy had expired, but apparently I lucked out and they were still in an open enrollment period.)

I was very very very fortunate to get to switch to a different insurance plan. We are also extremely blessed to be able to afford these ridiculous premiums, but they are a huge chunk of our budget. We now have BC/BS PPO Gold (just standard Gold... not the "basic" Gold that no one wants to accept). It costs a few hundred dollars more a month, but at least doctors will take it.

I can't even imagine how expensive this pregnancy and delivery would be if we weren't able to get the insurance switched.

So... that is my long-winded experience. The network was SO NARROW that it was completely useless. We were shelling out a TON of money for ZERO real-world coverage.

So people can pay a lot of money to just be within the law of having insurance coverage...but the reality is that if they have a health crisis and need assistance with huge medical bills, it isn't necessarily going to pay off at all.

It's official, for profit insurance has failed. Wage disparity & long term conditioning won. Humanity will fall (hopefully soon)

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: BritofTexas
Doesn't matter anymore.

Then why start the thread?

a reply to: BritofTexas

What he is saying is, he is unwilling to work for just over $160 an hour.

There are plenty of hungry, young doctors coming out of medical school that would be more than happy to take that $160 an hour. Like you, I can hardly find sympathy for these doctors.

originally posted by: Eunuchorn
It's official, for profit insurance has failed. Wage disparity & long term conditioning won. Humanity will fall (hopefully soon)

well that's encouraging !!

We don't have nearly the same problem here in Canada when it comes to health care, it is universal and accessible to all in need.
The difference here is that although we don't get hosed at the doctor's office or hospital visit, we get boned by the municipal, provincial and federal governments by way of outrageous taxes. I believe we have the better deal, but then again, try shopping around for a tax collector and see how far you get.

I think that's an incorrect way to view it. That $160 an hour has to cover payroll and taxes for staff, rent and utilities, supplies, insurance, etc. If the office has 2 people on staff, I'm guessing they make in the $15 an hour range, so there's $30 plus the employer portion of taxes gone right away or almost 20%. Malpractice insurance probably costs a fortune and expenses in general only keep going up. The doctor would be lucky to end up with half that amount and it's probably less, and odds are he has several hundred thousand dollars in med school loans.

originally posted by: BritofTexas
As Obamacare is ALL insurance policies, the Doctor is going to be twiddling his thumbs until a patient comes in with a Chicken.

But lets look at the Original Source for The Daily Callers article...

For a typical quick visit like this, Gerard could get reimbursed $100 or more from a private insurer. For the same visit, Medicare pays less — about $80. And now, with the new private plans under the Affordable Care Act, Gerard says he would get something in between, but closer to the lower Medicare rates. That's not something he's willing to accept.

A Doctor's Perspective On Obamacare Plans

How many of these "joint pain" patients does he see an hour? Let's say two, although obviously it could be more.

What he is saying is, he is unwilling to work for just over $160 an hour.

My heart bleeds.

a reply to: LeatherNLace

It was a bit of a culture shock when I first encountered how Doctors/Hospitals bill patients over here.

My wife is due to give birth at the beginning of October. The billing department for her OB/GYN wanted paying for everything, including delivery, by the end of June!

I asked if we get a discount as we were paying months ahead of time for services not yet rendered.

The answer?

NO

What a joke!

originally posted by: BritofTexas

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: BritofTexas
Doesn't matter anymore.

Then why start the thread?

Because Obama.Said

Obama.Said

"Access TO"

President Obama Answers: Access to Care
www.youtube.com...

a reply to: peter_kandra

Even though I don't really disagree with you that much, I'll use the Right's argument for the minimum wage.

"Nobody is forcing him to be a Doctor".

There are plenty of Fast Food establishments hiring, where he would not have the burden of Payroll.

Great. I have a daughter on Medicaid, havent been with my company long enough to qualify for insurance, and can't afford Obama.Care, which seems to be a pointless way go to anyways, so where does that leave me?

originally posted by: xuenchen
Because Obama.Said
Obama.Said

"Access TO"

So, now you want Obama to force Doctors to take patients? How? Executive Action?

WOW! You guys really need to make up your mind.

a reply to: BritofTexas

So you think the fact that this disincentizes people to either be doctors or continue to be doctors despite a national doctor shortage isn't an issue worth caring about?