I see Nadine answered....No, we can't pay more. We've been lucky so far...but at what point will the Docs who are good, just say "heck with it ....we're working harder and harder, for less and less, costs are more and more, taxes are more and more....so what exactly is the point???"
We will ALL be the losers! Already, as I've said before, Medicare coding is used in many places in most hospitals even if you aren't Medicare age....
We got the Medicare Supplement to help pay for the parts of our bills that Medicare didn't pay....BUT that turns out not to be the way it works.....IF Medicare doesn't APPROVE of the charge, then the Supplement won't pay the bill either. If Medicare pays just part of the bill, the Supplement only pays a percentage of the remaining bill. The supplier has to 'eat' the rest of the bill.
Ditto with the folks who come in without insurance. The private pay patients end up paying for those folks too.
If a Doctor takes ONE Medicare patient, he has to take all Medicare patients that come to him/her.
That's why some of the Docs are starting to NOT take Medicare patients.
Then, if you live in this state, there are very few other insurances that will cover anyone after they are 65, other than Medicare. |
