Corporations buying up doctor offices in South Florida

[gulfbreeze]

My sister called last night. She files insurance for a medical office in Port Charlotte, FL and she told me that corporations are buying out most of the doctor's offices there, as fast as they can. They then hire the doctors. She was upset because there was some law passed for medicaid (I think)where the uninsured would be able to schedule a yearly well check-up and the doctor's fee would be paid 100% instead of the patient having to pay the 20%. This was to assist the poor who neglected any visits to the doctor because the 20% added up for them. Well, she has told she needed to call all the patients who qualify, to make this appointment; even those who do not fall into this category; the patients who come in regularly. In other words, they are exploiting something put together for those in need, billing the gov for it, and sometimes even lying to the patients. She overheard several nurses and even a dr telling a patient who was in for treatment that they needed to schedule this wellness visit or the government would stop paying their insurance. What should she do? She is sick about this and will not participate. She said these are the very people who still complain about "obama care".

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Similar here in north Jersey. Hospitals/corporations are buying private practices of doctors

and hiring the physicians and staff as employees.

[Recursion]

2. Why doesn't she want the people to get checkups? I'm missing something

What's wrong with people getting checkups? Why do you care so much that somebody is making money in the process? Health care is being delivered.

[MedicalAdmin]

11. You don't see a problem with corporations buying up practices?

Really?

My advice to the OP is that if the law is being broken to document and then report it. Of course she will lose her job, be demonized, blackballed, blackmailed, threatened and likely jailed for her bother.

My real advice is to figure out a way to grab some of the graft. This country is done, grab what you can on the way out the door. Make sure you invest your ill gotten loot offshore. The job creators are showing us the way...


(do I really need a sarcasm tag thingy? Probably)

[Recursion]

12. No, really, I don't. Can you explain it? Almost all practices are corporations to start with

For liability reasons a doctor would be insane not to incorporate his practice.

How on earth is the law being broken? PPACA provides incentives for providers and insurers to provide care to people, particularly preventive care, and it's happening. I'm frankly appalled that people would be against this.

[gulfbreeze]

15. The program was designed to get the people who do not visit or rarely visit the dr

because they can't afford the 20% copay. It helps entice them to at least get a yearly check up because it's free. The office is telling people (most of the time they are elderly) they must come in for this visit (even though they may have been in just the week before) or they will lose their benefits (which is NOT true). Instead of trying to contact people who need to visit the dr because they haven't been in for at least a year, the company is attempting to force, through deceit, all patients on medicaid and medicare to make a separate appointment so that the company can get as much money from the program as possible. My sister said an elderly couple that came in yesterday was told they had to come in next week for this visit or they would lose their insurance. The couple explained that they have regular appointments and that it is difficult for them to have to make this extra visit. My sister also said that this visit doesn't always involve a dr either.

[midnight]

3. My insurance co. sent me a letter a few months ago telling me to get a battery of tests done...

I have never received any concern regarding testing from my insurance co. ever......

[Recursion]

4. And this is a bad thing?

Provider and insurer incentives for preventive care were part of the point of health care reform.

[hatrack]

16. Read Post #15 - took me a minute too

nt

[rucky]

8. I had the opposite problem.

I went in for a physical & lab tests thinking I wouldn't even need a co-pay.

Instead, I was charged a co-pay, my office visit was not covered, and I received a $900+ bill for the lab work - also denied.

[formercia]

9. Same thing happened to me

Some non-invasive tests that I had done a couple of years before with no cost to me. I was hit with an $800.copay.

[MedicalAdmin]

17. Would you be comfortable sharing the test performed?

I am asking so that I can tell you how much they actually cost. My guess is that your bill is grossly overinflated.

[somone]

5. The MBAs are taking over

If you're not contributing to the ever increasing profit target, then... adios!

[formercia]

10. More like Bean Counters.

Someone with an MBA, could run for President...oh, wait.... :rofl:

[Recursion]

13. So you're against these people getting care because someone is making a profit at some point?

Are you against Medicare and Social Security? Corporations profit off fulfilling those, too.

[glinda]

6. Kick

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. I just had my annual physical this week and I was informed that it was now a "Wellness Visit"

This meant no more copay (normally about 20 bucks), while the copay for a specialist went up.
This is Illinois Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO I get through my employer, by the way.

[bullwinkle428]

14. Rick Scott : "Mission Accomplished"!

[BiggJawn]

18. Anywhere there's a dime to be made, corporations will be there.

Article in my local paper today about "investors" paying obscene prices ($8K an acre) for farmland because they see food prices going nowhere but up and they'll make the nut and more quickly.

Finance their next Gulfstream on our misery...