Posted on 01/03/2010 12:34:13 PM PST by La Lydia
Phoenix - The Mayo Clinic in Arizona, as of tomorrow, will no longer accept patients who are on Medicare. Medicare patients are no longer going to be accepted due to the fact that the compensation paid out by Medicare is apparently not adequate to make up for the cost of care taken on by the clinic.
What this means is that many patients on Medicare are either going to have to begin to pay in cash, or be turned away to go elsewhere outside of the Mayo Clinic.
The Mayo Clinic has roughly 3,000 patients on Medicare who see their doctors in Arizona. As of tomorrow though, they will either have to pay in cash for their doctor visits, or go somewhere else.
This is only for the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, as this does not impact their other locations in Florida and Minnesota.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that doctors make far less treating Medicare patients than they do treating patients on private health insurance plans.
Here in SW Washington state, most medical clinics have waiting lists for new medicare patients. My own doctor’s office is not accepting any new patients. SInce I was with them for 5 years before joining medicare, I hope they don’t throw me out.
You are on medicare ONLY if you sign up for social security benefits. Then they take out the medicare premium automatically out of your SS check.
But 99.99% of people sign up with SS when eligible. So yes,
they are all on medicare.
However nothing stops you from getting your own separate insurance or pay cash and get any treatment you want.
Already true of so many hospitals and clinics. I guess it is just a matter of time before they make it mandatory for all medicare patients to be accepted everywhere. Since I am one of those, it does not make me feel good - but I applaud the medical industry for not taking on patients that only pay half of the bill! What I wonder is just what government will do when private enterprise declines all Medicare patients?
Of course, with the current bill, they seem intent on taking over all medical practice so I guess all except the rich will receive poor treatment, at best.
I think the entire point of what Obama and Congress is trying to do is destroy all the private hospitals and clinics (and insurance companies) and force us all into a public health service type system, with its rationing, its waiting lists, its inferior care, and its higher death rates. They are bent on destroying the best health care system in the world, and on lowering the standards of care in this country so that everyone is equally miserable, except, of course, for themselves. They will have separate, superior facilities for themselves and their families. That was the case in the Soviet Union, and that will be the case here as well. We are being enslaved.
I agree... but the coming revolt will change things...
I see the Commie Primary Care Providers, Clinics & Hospitals coming under violent attack by a throng of very pissed off US Citizens in the very near future compromised predominately of disillusioned Dems and so-called former Dems.
Yes! I can only hope that sensible lawmakers see the light and change this monstrosity of a bill before the revolt. Change is a coming (one way or another - if this bill passes)...
Well, the health care bill will fix this. First of all, they will not be able to refuse treatment. Second of all, they will have to cut back on services to everybody if the government funds can’t cover the cost of the treatment.
Fair is fair. Reduce treatment options to the lowest common denominator. If we can’t afford it for everyone, no one gets the treatment.
From now on, the treatment for every disease or problem is: Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.
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