Welcome to Obamacare. Now go find another doctor!

Obamacare started Jan the 1st, and it's getting off to a great start. My dad just emailed me and told me that on January the 5th, he got 4 letters from docs that he's visited in the past. All of these letters were informing him that they no longer take Medicare!
He was pretty frustrated. "What are the elderly supposed to do" he asked me. Maybe because I'm an RN he thought I'd know...

But I don't. It's only going to get worse. Much worse.

reply to post by davjan4


i'd have to get a doctor first..

who had been over billing medicare

who is now upset the cash cow loophole

is closed..

in order to get another one..

It will get worse before it gets better.. but I am personally one thinks medical care is something that we should all have access to regardless of our situation.. universal health care is one of those things, next to education.. that we fail at .. I think it's the right idea, but poorly executed at best.

The medical system we have now is the product of partisan bickering and failed negotiation.. much like the result of the "fiscal cliff" deal ... it's crap because neither side is willing to let the other side win.. the result is broken policy...

Our current medical system (that we have had prior to obamacare) though is corrupted.. many doctors/hospitals have abused medicare... to an extreme... they need to get used to that loophole being closed... it's kind of disgusting how much certain procedures cost.. when they absolutely don't have to cost that much.. it was a free ride for many "professionals"

Give them time as once no one starts to turn up at the surgery there may be a sudden interest of taking the lower paying patients since it makes more money than sitting in your surgery doing nothing for 8 hours a day

Originally posted by Maxatoria
Give them time as once no one starts to turn up at the surgery there may be a sudden interest of taking the lower paying patients since it makes more money than sitting in your surgery doing nothing for 8 hours a day

I agree... I think it will be a self correcting situation... many in the medical profession have been frankly over paid by being able to bill extreme amounts for things that have no reason to cost that much.. SIMPLY because they could get away with it .. the patient simply hands over their medical card and leaves .. then the doctor bills thousands for a simple thing that the tax payers pay for it collectively ... that has to stop.. it will cause a ripple at first but eventually it will correct itself.

We will be seeing cash only clinics popping up all over America soon. People that were eager to be doctors will find it less appealing which will result in a shortage in the profession. It is a slippery slope. The Healthcare bill was rushed and not even read before it was passed. Well intentioned it may be, but i fear the outcome will not be what was intended. The system we had was abused but could have been fixed. Now we can only wait and see the long term result. So far it does not look good. If you are wealthy you will be just fine. If you are poor it might well look more like genocide than healthcare.

Originally posted by miniatus

Originally posted by Maxatoria
Give them time as once no one starts to turn up at the surgery there may be a sudden interest of taking the lower paying patients since it makes more money than sitting in your surgery doing nothing for 8 hours a day

I agree... I think it will be a self correcting situation... many in the medical profession have been frankly over paid by being able to bill extreme amounts for things that have no reason to cost that much.. SIMPLY because they could get away with it .. the patient simply hands over their medical card and leaves .. then the doctor bills thousands for a simple thing that the tax payers pay for it collectively ... that has to stop.. it will cause a ripple at first but eventually it will correct itself.

edit on 1/6/2013 by miniatus because: (no reason given)

So uhhhh, just when exactly do you 'see' this correcting itself? Because it is NOT looking good! Do a Google search of 'doctor shortage under Obamacare' to see the reality. It was predicted all along and is now coming to fruition. Obamacare took a bad situation and made it worse. And getting 'affordable' health insurance??????? That's a joke. Can't wait til I get 'taxed' more funds I don't have just because I can't afford health insurance. Yippee Obama, you sure saved us. Now, not only can we not afford health insurance, get fined because we can't afford to pay for health insurance, we can't even go to a damn doctor because there aren't any that will have us.

ETA: OR, there aren't enough that can take us even if they wanted to because they will be overwhelmed with patients.


www.ocregister.com...

Nearly six in 10 doctors said that they are less positive about the future of health care in America under Obamacare. Almost two-thirds have a negative attitude toward their jobs – nearly twice as many as before the health law was passed in 2010.

As a result, many doctors are cutting back on their workload or shuttering their practices. Worse, their collective frustration is exacerbating our nation's troubling doctor shortage.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Obamacare will push the doctor shortage up to 63,000 by 2015 – and more than 91,000 by 2020. That's in addition to the full-time-equivalent losses from doctors working fewer hours.

Obamacare's $716 billion in cuts to Medicare are partially to blame. The law creates an Independent Payment Advisory Board charged with restraining the growth of Medicare spending. IPAB may not ration care or reduce seniors' benefits – so its only real option for reducing spending will be cutting reimbursement rates for health care providers who treat Medicare patients. And that will discourage doctors from seeing them.

Sources at The American Medical Association quoting from the “AMA Masterfile” reported this week that 375,146 active physicians are aged 55 or older. Half of all current active doctors will have reached traditional retirement age in ten years. U.S. population for shortly after that in 2025 suggest a resident population of 346 million. America's Association for Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates that there will be 734,900 U.S. Full Time Equivalent physicians in 2025 compared with 773,809 as of the end of 2008. ... there will be almost 40,000 fewer active doctors to take care of 42 million more Americans.

You liberals/socialists may need to rethink your attitudes. With skyrocketing tuition rates and falling reimbursement rates, fewer people will choose to pursue an MD. You may have much more trouble finding a soctor than you think. Additionally, many physicians who do continue to practice will reject medicare/medicaid patients unless they choose to pay cash. This is already happening and will continue to expand.

Link

reply to post by Gridrebel

You have a "troubling doctor shortage" in America? Wow,i would've thought the exact opposite.Medical insurance is very expensive in my country too.But if you have kids here,you have no viable option.The state hospitals here are a joke,much a case of "Abandon hope all ye who enter here".Tragically,this is not a joke.Part of the problem may be,i think,that so many doctors are in their profession because it tends to be lucrative-and not because they feel any true passion for,or a real Calling to heal the sick and to ease the pain.

that's been inevitable for years and years

medicare pays peanuts

the docs are just using this as an excuse

don't ever forget it's a business

Originally posted by syrinx high priest
that's been inevitable for years and years

medicare pays peanuts

the docs are just using this as an excuse

don't ever forget it's a business

Thaaaat's right! It IS a business and I don't know any business that want's to generate less income with increasing overhead and working harder as well. Would you???? Considering doctors are not rocket scientists, even THEY can see this is not a plus for them.

Originally posted by Gridrebel

So uhhhh, just when exactly do you 'see' this correcting itself? Because it is NOT looking good! Do a Google search of 'doctor shortage under Obamacare' to see the reality.

You realize we're discussing something that has only barely just kicked in and hasn't gone into full effect... it's not going to correct itself over night and I indeed said it's going to get get worse before it gets better.. it does not mean it's not a necessary evolution however.

The fact remains that our previous medical system was abused, and not just a little.. grossly abused.. Doctors could see a patient and bill the government thousands of dollars for simple procedures you could have done in other countries for a fraction of the cost.. our medications cost MUCH more here than elsewhere.. I don't know about you but the last few doctors I've had were known for taking 3-4 week vacations multiple times per year... the doctor who delivered me was my family doctor until I was in my early 20s... he would take ski trips several times a year.. he seemed to be out on vacation more than he was at his own practice.

I admire the medical profession... truly I do.. but things, especially here in the US.. are extremely out of balance.. .. it has to change.. the problem is you will absolutely see doctors who are used to having a big paycheck because of being able to bill uncle sam thousands of dollars for something simple who won't like this.. but as was already said.. when they stop taking medicare and going cash only, or whatever... they will find they have less people in their waiting rooms... things will find a new balance..

Just to give you an idea of the abuse that happens... a simple xray can cost anywhere from $50 to nearly $800 or more.. a process that takes minutes can cost an outrageous amount of money.... just doing a quick google search I see people who've been billed nearly two grand for a simple single xray.. $50 to $2,000? that's RIDICULOUS and a horrible abuse of the system.

Originally posted by Gridrebel

Originally posted by syrinx high priest
that's been inevitable for years and years

medicare pays peanuts

the docs are just using this as an excuse

don't ever forget it's a business

Thaaaat's right! It IS a business and I don't know any business that want's to generate less income with increasing overhead and working harder as well. Would you???? Considering doctors are not rocket scientists, even THEY can see this is not a plus for them.

It's a business that had an easy thing it could abuse... if medicare / insurance did not exist.. and free market rules actually were in effect? .. medical care would cost MUCH less.... that's the entire POINT ... medicare has been an easy thing for medical practitioners to ciphen from... need an xray? .. sure thing.. show me your card.. got it.. have a nice day.. now lets go bill the taxpayers a couple grand for my 15 minutes of time then I'll book my flight for my 5th ski trip of the year... kthx

Originally posted by Raxoxane
reply to post by Gridrebel

 

You have a "troubling doctor shortage" in America? Wow,i would've thought the exact opposite

I do think that is an exaggeration.. there's CERTAINLY no shortage of doctors in my state

Originally posted by Gridrebel

Nearly six in 10 doctors said that they are less positive about the future of health care in America under Obamacare. Almost two-thirds have a negative attitude toward their jobs – nearly twice as many as before the health law was passed in 2010.

As a result, many doctors are cutting back on their workload or shuttering their practices. Worse, their collective frustration is exacerbating our nation's troubling doctor shortage.

By the way.. that is HARDLY a shock ... yes this will hit doctors in their wallet ... but mind you many of those doctors have really.. really fat wallets because many of them have been riding the gravy train .. it's not just medicare, in fact medicare is far less abused than insurance in general .. but either way.. it's that fact that they don't like.. it's going to make it harder for them to bill way more than is necessary as they've done in the past... so no.. of course this is not popular among them.. that's common sense... I still say just because they don't like it doesn't mean it's not necessary.

Originally posted by miniatus

The medical system we have now is the product of partisan bickering and failed negotiation.. much like the result of the "fiscal cliff" deal ... it's crap because neither side is willing to let the other side win.. the result is broken policy...

The medical system we have now is simply a mutant form of fascism.

It is no failure on the part of the left.

It is success on a grand scale.

It's exactly what they wanted.

Well we will see if the population has all that cash to support all those cash only doctors. If it does, then Obamacare is superfluous. If it doesnt they can either retrain themselves or are better off with accepting medicaid. I heard professional athletes make good money, they might want to pursue that profession if they are not happy with being a doctor anymore.