With Medicaid Cuts, Doctors and Patients Drop Out

[groovedaddy]

FLINT, Mich. — Carol Y. Vliet’s cancer returned with a fury last summer, the tumors metastasizing to her brain, liver, kidneys and throat. As she began a punishing regimen of chemotherapy and radiation, Mrs. Vliet found a measure of comfort in her monthly appointments with her primary care physician, Dr. Saed J. Sahouri, who had been monitoring her health for nearly two years.

She was devastated, therefore, when Dr. Sahouri informed her a few months later that he could no longer see her because, like a growing number of doctors, he had stopped taking patients with Medicaid.

Dr. Sahouri said that his reimbursements from Medicaid were so low — often no more than $25 per office visit — that he was losing money every time a patient walked in his exam room.

The final insult, he said, came when Michigan cut those payments by 8 percent last year to help close a gaping budget shortfall.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/health/policy/16medicaid.html?th&emc=th

[Paper Roses]

1. I'm glad you brought this reimbursement subject to light.

My daughter is a young doctor and she has told me of the unimaginable paperwork for Medicare reimbursement and the little they receive. I don't think the general public is aware of this. Fifteen minutes or 2 hours with a patient, does not matter, they get so little that they lose money. Now the government is going to drop the reimbursement rate for doctors even more. Who in their right mind would go to Medical School today, incur 150,000 worth of loans to pay for it, work about 80 hours a week and think that they are doing a good thing. They will be paying back student loans until the cows come home.

It still boils down to the insurance companies and the Medicare reimbursement rate given to the medical providers.

Between both, it will be harder and harder to find a doctor.

What a disgusting mess for all of us. Thanks, Uncle Sam for doing your part.

[activa8tr]

2. Is she a specialist?

Student loans hardly are more than $150,000, and most specialists make $300,000 a year after 3-5 years.

A General Practitioner, 2/3 of that is a fine income, and 12 years of 20,000 a year to pay off loans, hardly a burden on someone making that amount of money, and getting various tax deductions for the loan payments under current law.

If she went into medicine to make lots of money, she chose the wrong profession.

I think most American families do quite well with $125,000 a year in income. But that's just me.

Most physicians have a lifetime of options to make more than that yearly until well into their 70's if they so choose.

[MattNC]

4. the HCR bill

increases Medicaid rates to Medicare levels I think. Of course, Congress still needs to address the "doctor's fix" for Medicare reimbursement rates.

[bemildred]

3. Medicare for all now! nt