“Dr. Orient stated that “after this case, doctors may believe that their government will treat them like criminals, despite an outpouring of support from their grateful patients. Many may decide that continued participation in Medicare is far too dangerous.”
In the long run, this will do more do hasten the exit of physicians from Medicare than anything else. In comparison, the risks of civil litigation are but a mere trifle. What doctor is going to risk his livelihood, his fortune and his liberty to see a Medicare patient?
The public may be indifferent, and politicians may delight in demagoging ‘greedy’ doctors, but when that highly trained specialist is not there, the chickens will come home to roost.
A new kind of "doc fix". The government pays 33% less than market rates, and even though there's a scarcity of Medicare Drs, they won't hesitate to throw them into jail to... protect the public...