Can a doctor NOT accept Medicare as an insurance?

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
It was my belief that ALL medical doctors had to accept Medicare. I was looking for an ophthalmologist and clicked on his web page for accepted insurance. He only takes Aetna insured patients.
 

Doctors are not obligated to treat any patient and this includes those on medicare and medicaid. The exception to that is when it is a life threatening emergency. At that point the EMTALA law comes into effect.
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What is EMTALA?
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, EMTALA, is known as the "anti-dumping" statute for its ban on patient dumping. Congress passed EMTALA in 1986 in response to a number of widely reported horror stories about emergency rooms turning away seriously ill or injured patients who had no insurance and no money to pay for treatment.
Prior to EMTALA, there was no requirement that hospitals treat everyone who came to the emergency room and, in many states, hospitals were not held responsible for damages caused by their refusal to treat patients. A hospital could choose not to treat a patient who lacked insurance or enough money to pay for the required medical treatment. In some cases, patients died or suffered serious injuries because of a transfer or delay in treatment.
 

Bonnie said:
Not true in Texas. .. That is why I have a Medicare Advantage Plan.
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I've never had a doctor refuse to take me. Some might be old fashioned and not take any insurance, but the specialists and tier one docs always do. You choose your own doc and see them every time, mostly specialists, which is why we have a good medicare supplement. Good for everyone to be happy with their doctors, huh.
 
Doctors can decide what insurance plans they want to accept. This includes new patients, insurance plans and private self pay patients. Its best to ask to speak with the doctors practice administrator before trying to make an appointment with a new doctor. When my PCP wants to refer me to a specialist, I call his office and make sure he is in my network, I have a Medicare PPO Advantage Plan that has a ton of providers to choose from. I make sure I have all the info I need before seeing the doctor. Better safe than sorry.
 
terry123 said:
Doctors can decide what insurance plans they want to accept. This includes new patients, insurance plans and private self pay patients. Its best to ask to speak with the doctors practice administrator before trying to make an appointment with a new doctor. When my PCP wants to refer me to a specialist, I call his office and make sure he is in my network, I have a Medicare PPO Advantage Plan that has a ton of providers to choose from. I make sure I have all the info I need before seeing the doctor. Better safe than sorry.
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Ditto......
 
Marlene said:
Doctors are not obligated to treat any patient and this includes those on medicare and medicaid. The exception to that is when it is a life threatening emergency. At that point the EMTALA law comes into effect.
---------
What is EMTALA?
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, EMTALA, is known as the "anti-dumping" statute for its ban on patient dumping. Congress passed EMTALA in 1986 in response to a number of widely reported horror stories about emergency rooms turning away seriously ill or injured patients who had no insurance and no money to pay for treatment.
Prior to EMTALA, there was no requirement that hospitals treat everyone who came to the emergency room and, in many states, hospitals were not held responsible for damages caused by their refusal to treat patients. A hospital could choose not to treat a patient who lacked insurance or enough money to pay for the required medical treatment. In some cases, patients died or suffered serious injuries because of a transfer or delay in treatment.
Click to expand...

It's a beautiful world we live in
A sweet romantic place
Beautiful people everywhere
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say

It's a beautiful world, For you
It's a beautiful world, For you
It's a beautiful world, For you
It's a beautiful world, Not me

- Devo
 
When we owned a medical equipment business in the 80's-90's, there was a big glass goblet of
bullets in one of the large trauma hospitals in the city...they took any patients under an emergency basis and always seemed to have the best chest cutters on duty. The staff used to guess the number of bullets in the goblet every year...they had a nice pool of money for the winner.
 
Yes! We had one of the larger clinics in my area who decided not to accept Medicare, patients were so upset. As far as Medicaid, major problem. What they would do is accept one a month. Glad I am now retired, terrible trying to assist the patients. Most feel the doctor or medical staff are doing this, when it’s the folks at the top making these decisions.
 
All is true and those doctor that "do" and those that "don't" show this on their website...…….or are suppose to. Also, a doctor can stop taking new patients at any time.
 
Same with pharmacists. My daughter is one and you would not believe the fake scripts people try to pass as legit. She has been doing this for over 25 years and has seen and heard every excuse there is for fake scripts. She can refuse to fill a script that she thinks is not legit. By now she knows the handwriting of most of her doctors. She also knows how they prescribe certain meds. She is quick to call the doctor to be sure he is prescribing a controlled med when in the past he has not. Its easier and faster now due to the electronic age. They can communicate without picking up the phone.
 
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