It doesn’t look good: “The conventional wisdom is that the cuts will eventually be stayed, but once they are implemented, and become the status quo, the higher the likelihood that the remedy will not appear and we will be stuck with the lower rates, or that a fix, if it comes, may be less than initially expected.”
Dr. Rob takes us behind the scenes on what some doctors are thinking.
Related posts:
- Charging patients for Medicare cuts
- Medicare cuts: Let the games begin
- Medicare cuts: A 6-month stay of execution
- The Medicare cuts are coming
- The Medicare cuts are looming
- Medicare cuts: This politician gets it
- Medicare cuts reset
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Why not boycott the Medicare Advantage plans? Insurance companies get 35% plus in margins (13-17% overpayments from CMS plus the 20-30% underpayments to doctors). Why would a doctor take Medicare Advantage? If all (or most) doctors don’t accept Medicare Advantage then patients will not want to join. Physicians have been at the whim of insurance companies, medicare, malpractice insurance, health departments, lawyers for too long. If we don’t act together all the parties mentioned will continue to pick at the physician infrastructure until there is no infrastructure.
Spread the word that accepting (actually you have to opt out) Medicare Advantage plans is a vote that you are happy with what Insurance is doing to you.
If you are a Republican (I am), it is seriously time to consider whether you really want to support a freely spending, special interest oriented group (Bush and the Republicans) or a freely spending not so special interest oriented group (Obama by default I guess).
As with any price control scheme, there will be “cherry-picking and lemon-dropping”.
The frail elderly, with their endless appointments, will wonder why they see their doctor less often. In contrast, the “Casino Elderly”, with their in-and-out visits, will be OK.
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