Doctors Threaten to Pull Out of Texas Medicaid

[Synicus Maximus]

Source: NBC

Cuts to the reimbursements given to doctors who treat patients covered by the state's low-income health care program are raising fears that already declining physician participation will fall even further, according to a published report.

The health care and insurance industries fear that a 1 percent cut in Medicaid fees scheduled to take effect Sept. 1 will be the first in a series of cuts as state agencies are asked to trim their two-year budgets by 10 percent to help cover an expected $18 billion revenue shortfall, The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.

About 3.3 million poor and disabled Texans depend on Medicaid for health care, but less than a third of the state's 48,700 practicing doctors accept patients covered by the federal program, according to Texas Health and Human Services Commission. And some doctors who do participate in the program limit the number and kind of patients they accept.

Read more: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Doctors-Threaten-to-Pull-Out-of-Texas-Medicaid-98202569.html

[unkachuck]

1. that's it....

....starve Medicaid, the unemployed, poor and disabled and send that loot to wall street where they wait for it with open arms....nothing I hate to see more than impoverished, suffering, billionaires....

[Amonester]

2. but, but, but, the Taliban need the money for their war against ...

the U.S. troops... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4462379

The more things change... the more they stay the same (or even worse, since there's no money for Doctors and soon... SS? What else??) :mad:

[defendandprotect]

3. Just what the GOP ordered up, isn't it . . . ???

This is what they've been trying to do all along --

destroy confidence in the system and doctor participation!!

[SnakeEyes]

6. It's not just a GOP problem

This has been a concern long before now. Doctors have been cutting government funded patients for a while now because of the costs vs payments received. The Democrats haven't done enough to guarantee higher payments.

[Tempest]

8. "The Democrats haven't done enough to guarantee higher payments."

An impossible task considering how often the Repugs have filibustered all attempts at passing any meaningful legislation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/01/gop-filibuster-record-rep_n_480722.html

[defendandprotect]

10. +1000% . . . and tremendous corporate theft involved . . .

which I'm not sure they've had time yet to properly get ahold of?

But much of it also has to do pharmceutical/drug companies!!

And we still haven't knocked out Bush's Drug Plan which needs to be totally

reformed -- including permitting bargaining on drugs!

[defendandprotect]

9. Correct . . . because GOP kept attacking and cutting doctor reimbursements ...

they have long been trying to turn Medicare into "Welfare" --

and to discourage doctor participation in it --

Remember when it was patriotic to support a government program like this?

In fact, Medicare is regularly being ripped off by corporations -- don't think we've

quite gotten ahold of that one yet!

Drug/pharmaceutical companies big abusers!!

And up to the last moment of Bush's term, he was still trying to slow down and hold up

payments to doctors -- simply cutting payments wasn't enough!

[superconnected]

7. Agreed. Right Wing doctors were saying they were going to do this.

I see it more as a statement than anything else. I mean the rest of America has taken a lot more than a 1% pay cut.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. A dr. here has ad in local paper that he is cutting his practice

and not taking new Medicare patients.
He was covering a 4 country area, says he cannot afford to do so anymore, will only see limited number of patients in 2 towns.
The ad is politely worded, but that is the sum of it.
Medicare will be next on list of patients to be shunted aside.

[elias7]

5. Here's the problem...

Most PCP's no longer take self-pay patients, not because such a large percentage don't pay their bills, which is true but not such a big deal, but because that population has a high percentage of malingerers-- those who misrepresent a physical condition for secondary gain, usually to gain drugs for self use or for sale...

Unfortunately, Medicaid recipients suffer from a similar minority of abusers. Docs would take medicaid patients if there weren't so many that either abused or appear to be abusing the system. The emotional toll in dealing with malingerers is great, and sadly is more common when dealing with self-pay or medicaid patients.

If they get less and less reimbursement for their perceived "trouble" population, where is their incentive to continue treating them? There needs to be laws regarding denial of care for docs, or laws that penalize those that abuse the self-pay/medicaid system. Right now, most people, good people are losing out...

[defendandprotect]

11. No it's not . . . rather, the reverse is true ... Doctors having patients come in ...

when a phone call would do -- they purposefully won't respond to telephone calls

unless an absolute emergency - they want the FEE for the office visit.

Further -- it is doctors who have worked out and profit from this Merry-Go-Round health

care with the elderly required to report in at least once every three months for testing

and checks on medications!

Compare any of this with the way the VA runs its business and you can see the deception

involved -- and I don't mean the VA which is ignoring the illnesses of veterans with

serious medical conditions --

[elias7]

12. I pretty much disagree with everything you have said.

If you have seen the medication errors the elderly make, you would be thankful that docs have them come in to review things every 3 months. That's good preventative medicine. Insinuating a greed motive is simplistic and plain wrong. I don't know where you get your information, but if people want to make real money, medicine is not the field for them.

You say that doctors purposefully don't respond to phone calls? If you walked through a single day with a physician, you would realize your statement is truly insulting. And again, wrong.

The VA is notorious for being a sluggish bureaucracy that provides excellent care is you can wait months for an appointment. They are understaffed, underfunded and would not be my caretaker of choice (if I was a vet).

Calling doctors greedy and callous maybe works for you, but as a physician, I can tell you I have known very few that fit that bill. Most are caring, overworked, underappreciated, and really don't deserve crap from someone who has no idea what he's talking about.

It sounds like your experiences with the medical field have not been satisfying, and I'm sorry for that. I would be happy to discuss that. But you stereotype, overgeneralize and demonize a very diverse group of individuals...to me it sounds no different than a racist or sexist or homophobic rant.

[defendandprotect]

14. The vast problems with medications are in costs and side effects . . .

and don't tell me that you don't know that if you are a doctor --

50% of GP's want out of their profession --

The very sick and elderly who might have problems with taking medications -- largely

because so many are prescribed usually have family or caretakers assisting --

And why do they have so many medications?

Because every medication has serious side effects which doctors "cure" by adding a new

prescription with new side effects -- and on and on!

Information comes from many sources -- C-span coverage of Congress, reports of investigations

of Medicare and doctors -- patients themselves -- and by understanding the absolute

corruption of our government and its agencies -- and many of our doctors who are often being

rewarded for recommending new prescriptions being pushed by pharmaceutical companies.


You say that doctors purposefully don't respond to phone calls? If you walked through a single day with a physician, you would realize your statement is truly insulting. And again, wrong.

Sorry, but that's what investigations have shown . . . simple questions not being answered so

that patients have to make an office visit. I've had this happen with me -- however I persisted!

Many nurses will also tell you what's going on. Sen. Bernie Sanders is also a great sources on

a lot of this stuff going on. And, btw, if you don't know it one of the largest problems with

Medicare has been the rip offs by the huge pharmaceutical and drug companies! Yes, we've fined

them -- billions of dollars. They produce crap and they still steal!



And -- this is not my husband's experience --

The VA is notorious for being a sluggish bureaucracy that provides excellent care is you can wait months for an appointment. They are understaffed, underfunded and would not be my caretaker of choice (if I was a vet).

and again . . . I stressed this is a normally healthy person -- and not the unbelievable numbers

of troops returning with serious problems -- because I agree that the government has been

trying to skimp and avoid caring for those troops -- beginning with Gulf War Syndrome!

Calling doctors greedy and callous maybe works for you, but as a physician, I can tell you I have known very few that fit that bill. Most are caring, overworked, underappreciated, and really don't deserve crap from someone who has no idea what he's talking about.


Let's also make clear that YOU are calling doctors "greedy and callous" -- those are YOUR words.


Unfortunately, I have a good idea of what I'm talking about -- try reading about some of the

stuff I'm talking about -- start with Sen. Bernie Sanders -- follow the reports on the

corruption in the pharmaceuitcal companies --

many of the drugs are taken off the market and returned later under a new name --

Many of the drugs are actually the same under varying names.


This is wishful thinking --

It sounds like your experiences with the medical field have not been satisfying, and I'm sorry for that. I would be happy to discuss that. But you stereotype, overgeneralize and demonize a very diverse group of individuals...to me it sounds no different than a racist or sexist or homophobic rant.

Again, it is YOU suggesting there is "stereotyping and overgeneralization and demonizing" --

I've simply reported to you what you can read in newspapers or reports of the medical

industry -- and what you can hear from personal experiences -- **

did it somehow seem to you that people are pleased with the medical care and drugs they are

being given?

Nor does your reply sound like you're prepared to have an open mind about any of

this --

Plants are our natural medicines -- we should get back to those models and to that reality.

And certainly there is nothing to suggest from the behavior of other corporations that the

medical industry is doing any better than the oil rig industry!

The proliferation of new medical service buildings vie with banks in popping up everywhere

and suggest that either this is a very highly profitable industry or we are indeed a very sick

nation!

Which takes us back again to the need for medical care based on PREVENTION --

and medications based on natural plants --




Patients are trading information about reactions to drugs --

one of the websites for that is askapatient.com --

[ProudDad]

13. Gee, the poor babies can't make their quarter of a million/year

taking poor patients...

I'm on Medicare and it's still cheaper for me to go to the ER than to see one of these FUCKS...

Even if I could FIND ONE that will take Medicare patients...

So, as usual, I do without preventive care...