Doctors dropping Medicare patients

Had a Doc in the Early 1980's had so many waiting every day in his office waiting room he quit Medicare.
Didn't need them oldies there waiting all day and dying too.
 

I'm sorry that happened Candi, but glad you found someone else. I would be very upset if I could no longer see my eye doctors. My glaucoma specialist, who also sees my son, is excellent and so is my optometrist. She and my optometrist have a system where they can directly share information with each other, even though my optometrist is in private practice. I could probably find other eye doctors who are good but I wouldn't want to have to do that. I'd been to two other specialists before seeing her. Each was recommended by my regular eye doctor who I considered to be a good doctor, but each specialist misdiagnosed my eye problem.

My specialist is part of a group and I would think the entire group would have to stop taking Medicare patients. They conduct several types of eye tests, do cataract and laser surgeries as well as treat other eye conditions. A good percentage of their patients are seniors. I imagine they'd lose a lot of business if they stopped taking Medicare.
 
After looking at supplemental plans I chose not to participate. It just does not seem cost effective and there are too many restrictions. Regular Medicare covers my needs perfectly.
 

stretch5881 said:
Supplemental plans or Advantage plans?
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I looked at both so I probably used the wrong term. Adding additional cost for a plan that you may not use and didn't cover that much anyway or adding additional cost to totally replace medicare with a private plan with the hoops you would have to jump through there and fewer doctors willing to take it did not seem wise decisions for me.
 
In Canada healthcare is paid for by our government but unfortunately many doctors are heading south to the states for better pay rate. When we first came to this province we were without a doctor for quite a while.

Another thing is that our government would rather hire new doctors coming from other countries cause they can charge them more.
Our nephew got a 96% average in medical school but canā€™t get a job. All the jobs are given to foreign students.
 
Hello,
Experiencing the same thing here in Ca.
My medical group is denying everything.
I have read many news articles in "terms of why".
But it is getting worst.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
In Canada healthcare is paid for by our government but unfortunately many doctors are heading south to the states for better pay rate. When we first came to this province we were without a doctor for quite a while.

Another thing is that our government would rather hire new doctors coming from other countries cause they can charge them more.
Our nephew got a 96% average in medical school but canā€™t get a job. All the jobs are given to foreign students.
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Patty I like you, BUT I MUST challenge some of what you wrote about medical care in Canada. First, foreign trained Doctors who want to come to Canada MUST go through a series of qualifying examinations BEFORE they can practice here, and IF their medical training was NOT delivered in either English OR French, they MUST PROVE that they can read, write, speak, and understand one of our two official languages at a high school level of ability. Of course, those foreign trained Doctors will be required TO PAY for the examinations and any further training in order to meet Canadian standards, before they can practice in Canada.

Which Canadian University did your nephew graduate from, and was his degree that of a Medical Doctor? If he graduated from a Canadian University as a M.D. I find it absolutely impossible that "He can't get a job ". Explain that, please ?
 
jimintoronto said:
Patty I like you, BUT I MUST challenge some of what you wrote about medical care in Canada. First, foreign trained Doctors who want to come to Canada MUST go through a series of qualifying examinations BEFORE they can practice here, and IF their medical training was NOT delivered in either English OR French, they MUST PROVE that they can read, write, speak, and understand one of our two official languages at a high school level of ability. Of course, those foreign trained Doctors will be required TO PAY for the examinations and any further training in order to meet Canadian standards, before they can practice in Canada.

Which Canadian University did your nephew graduate from, and was his degree that of a Medical Doctor? If he graduated from a Canadian University as a M.D. I find it absolutely impossible that "He can't get a job ". Explain that, please ?
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Jim. I like you too. Challenge away.

I didnā€™t claim that itā€™s easier for foreign students to become doctors. I just said that they are charged more.

Of course they have to write exams first. Most of these medical students start and finish their education in Canada. They also have to know English and / or French to qualify. That goes without saying.

My nephew went to University of Ottawa and got a 96% average. He went with a scholarship.

He canā€™t get a job! I thought that was self explanatory. Heā€™s applied to become a doctor and has been turned down.
 
Candi1 said:
Recently my long time eye doctor told me he is no longer seeing Medicare patients. I had been going to him for 8 years and now he tells me I have to pay out of pocket to see him. I'm in a good Medicare Advantage plan, not straight Medicare. Fortunately, I found an alternate doctors.....a bit further away but affiliated with a good medical group. Has anyone else experienced this?
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My doctor isn't taking patients with the Medicare Advantage plan, but still takes patients with straight Medicare.
 
There was a local doctor here years ago that didn't take ANY health insurances. He told my mom that it was too much paperwork for him to deal with and he didn't want to hire anyone to help with it. He was a one-man operation. Needless to say he didn't have many patients.
 
I've always found vision plans/insurance to be some of the worse out there. It shouldn't be that much for many that is nothing but a yearly check up. That being said maybe just use the optometrists at the eye glass places and if they see something they will recommend seeing an ophthamologist anyway.
 
I lost my vision and dental insurance when I retired. It was a great plan - it entitled me to dental checkups twice a year and vision exams and glasses every other year. The premiums of policies would be more for me than just paying OOP. Also, the insurance companies can always find a loophole to slither out of paying.
 
I havenā€™t experienced any problems with medical providers accepting Medicare or my advantage plan with Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Some of the medical providers in the area have been in contract disputes with Excellus over reimbursement and coverage rates.

I donā€™t anticipate any problems until I become an elderly ā€˜frequent flyerā€™ with the need for various hospitalizations with larger copayments and deductibles not covered by Medicare or Excellus.

I donā€™t worry about it too much because things are constantly changing and I donā€™t have much control over any of it.
 
I had some minor surgery Friday and the doctor seemed relieved that I did not have supplemental insurance. When I said I just have Medicare he said they could get me right in. From what I am hearing here some of the supplemental plans try to refuse payment and they are not consistent between providers. It is causing hassles. Supplemental insurance, as is all insurance, is a for profit business. Medicare is pretty much straightforward when compared to supplemental insurance.
 
DebraMae said:
I had some minor surgery Friday and the doctor seemed relieved that I did not have supplemental insurance. When I said I just have Medicare he said they could get me right in. From what I am hearing here some of the supplemental plans try to refuse payment and they are not consistent between providers. It is causing hassles. Supplemental insurance, as is all insurance, is a for profit business. Medicare is pretty much straightforward when compared to supplemental insurance.
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Most people with regular Medicare also have a supplement to pay the 20 percent not covered by Medicare. Thereā€™s no hassle at all because Medicare tells your supplement what to pay and they have no choice. Your doctor was probably glad you didnā€™t have an advantage plan because those require pre-approval and a certain network of providers which is a big hassle.
 
Teacher Terry said:
Most people with regular Medicare also have a supplement to pay the 20 percent not covered by Medicare. Thereā€™s no hassle at all because Medicare tells your supplement what to pay and they have no choice. Your doctor was probably glad you didnā€™t have an advantage plan because those require pre-approval and a certain network of providers which is a big hassle.
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Yeah, you've brought up a misconception I hear all the time. People say, "I have Medicare and along with that a good supplement insurance which pays everything that Medicare does not." That's not quite true.

Medicare has a rigid fee schedule for all covered services. If covered, Medicare pays 80% of that fee, whereas the supplemental carrier pays only the 20% of what Medicare has established in their fee schedule.

So, say you had a procedure that cost $1000, but Medicare only allows payment of $300. Of that they'll pay 80% ($240), and the supplemental insurance carrier will pay the other 20% ($60). Not all providers accept that payment in full, although most hospitals will.

And Medicare Advantage plans --like Humana-- will often not even pay the full Medicare fee. So that's one of the reasons why many providers will not accept MC Advantage plans. So carefully look at what your health care will cost when considering MC versus MC Advantage plans.
 
I have traditional Medicare Parts A & B and United Healthcare for the supplemental, but I always have a co-pay - usually it's $25, but could be more depending on the doctor (if a specialist) and if any tests are done. A few months ago I went to an urgent care facility and had to pay $125 for the visit.
 
Medicare Advantage plans are like an HMO. I have traditional Medicare and a Plan F. Iā€™ve never paid a dime for my surgeries or Dr visits in the last 8 years. No co pays no deductables. I can go to any provider or hospital that accepts Medicare.
 
My zero premium advantage plan is great for the routine medical visits, tests, and prescriptions but is clear that they do not cover the more costly deductibles for hospital stays, short term nursing home stays or rehabilitation stays.

Iā€™m ok with that now but if my health declines to the point where I become a ā€˜frequent flyerā€™ I will probably switch to a more comprehensive program with a monthly premium.
 
Trade said:
There are 65 million people on Medicare. Once these doctors realize how much it's going to cost them in lost revenue by cutting themselves out of that big a market share I'm thinking they will come crawling back.
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Yes, this happened to my mother's doctor after about two years...
As for the Medicare Supplement Policies....there are many to choose from, some will pay everything Medicare does not pay, others will pay with different deductibles.
 
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We have a medical advantage plan.

No problem with doctors, old or new.
Specialists, dentist, optometrist, eyeglasses, ER visits... all covered.
 

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