“If You Like Your Doctor, You Can Keep Your Doctor”
Many new health exchanges don’t yet let shoppers see which doctors accept which insurance plans. Where exchanges do post the so-called provider lists, they often contain inaccurate or misleading information, some doctors say, including wrong specialties, addresses and language skills, and no indication whether providers are accepting new patients. (Wall Street Journal)
I just want a cheap doctor who won’t kill me on the table, or with an infection
You’re asking for a lot
That’s what everyone wants. Unfortunately the market can’t guarantee that for every single person so we mess with it and end up putting everybody in jeopardy.
“Many new health exchanges don’t yet let shoppers see which doctors accept which insurance plans.”
Then how can people keep their doctors?
Magic Obama wands!
Barack Obama went to Hogwarts?
“Officials took the doctor search tool off-line for more than a week because many doctors’ specialties were listed erroneously.”
I would hate to show up for a flu shot and leave with a colonoscopy. It amazes me how something so simple was messed up on the website
That would be OK if you paid for a flu shot but got a colonoscopy.
The whole other issue is really how many doctors are going to sign up for these exchanges?
It is looking like very few, although I’m sure we’ll settle at some very low equilibrium.
Good point. The exchanges are going to be “death traps” (semi-hyperbolic) due to the enormous demand and limited supply.
Medicaid will be similar, although I think you might be off. It isn’t necessarily true that physicians won’t join, we’ll spend a ton of money to incentivize them to. So we have two options, terrible public health care quality or crippling debt.
Medicaid has never reimbursed that well, now it is being brought up to Medicare levels which is no great improvement. It remains to be seen what is to be done with the Sustainable Growth Rate.
One option is Congress OKs a whopping 1% increase. If no action is taken, that will decrease by 24%. What business do you know can sustain that kind of decrease in revenues?
That could really put some people in bad situations. Nobody is going to get a colonoscopy when they need a flu shot, but with ridiculous wait times (which there will surely be), getting sent to the wrong place and having to wait again could really hurt you.
I believe that we should be able to keep our same doctors. This issue is going to become problematic especially for older patients who have established strong bonds with their doctors for 20+ years. I would hate to have to rebuild a relationship with my primary care. We, as patients place a lot of trust into our physicians. It takes years to establish a good relationship between physician and patient. When i say “good relationship”, I am referring to Physicians who do not need to look at a patients chart in order to answer questions regarding a patient. That is when you know you have build a strong relationship with your physician.
I am afraid that if patients have to see specific doctors which are chosen for them that healthcare will take a turn for the worse. I do not want my visit to the doctors office turning into some kind of lazy assembly line. The doctor calls you back, checks your overall vitals, and then on to the next patient…