It is amazing to me that seniors accept the Medicare plan without challenging the fact that they must buy a private insurance policy to cover what Medicare does not cover -- prescription drugs being only one item. This has been going on for years.
So when some groups advocate to expand Medicare to the whole population they must not realize the gaps in Medicare -- they must not understand the non-coverage and problems there. Why do the seniors tolerate this?
My mother, even with a Medigap policy, must pay for all her prescription drugs out of pocket. What kind of health care is that?
Yea, its looked down upon to criticize Medicare in some circles, but the "left" has not done a damn thing about how poor the plan is as it exists. I cannot remember one campaign in the past from seniors or lefties that points out the deficiencies in Medicare and then a plan to get them taken care of -- to make Medicare better. Anyone know of one (besides the current drive for a Medicare prescriptiion benefit)? I'll gladly eat crow if so.
Anyway thanks for filling me in on your docs experiences. Will keep for future reference.
Marta
>
>I know a couple of doctors who take Medicare. One is a shrink. He
>spends at least twenty minutes per patient filling out forms...only
>to be denied payment at least half the time. The other is my GP. He
>is completely committed to community health care and has been
>providing wonderful service to Oakland residents for all of his
>life. (In his youth, he used to be the doctor for the Black
>Panthers.) Anyway, I was just in his office and read a long article
>about him and about the ways that he has actually been fined by
>Medicare ($38,000) for providing lab work in his own office and for
>ordering tests/procedures that Medicare did not think were needed.
>It is horrendous.
>
>Joanna
-- Marta Russell Los Angeles, CA http://www.disweb.org