Doctors Disgruntled and what this means to the average person who receives Medicare

Doctors are disgruntled because, Congress, in the effort to balance the national budget is trying to find ways to scale back Medicare expenses — guess one of the ways they are doing it?

Yes, cutting reimbursement for doctors. Now, I know what some of you are thinking — it’s hard to have sympathy for the plight of America’s doctors because they still earn a lot more than the average American.

This is not entirely unreasonable attitude, however, let me tell you why this matters to the average person on Medicare.

In the day-to-day dealings with my clients and handling many actual claims, here’s what I am seeing: As a result of Congress’ repeated threats to reduce doctor’s reimbursement, a significant minority of doctors are becoming less inclined to accept Medicare’s approved rate as full payment. Its not all doctors, but the number can’t be ignored.

Just a few short years ago, in fact, 6 months ago, I rarely heard of a doctor who didn’t accept assignment.

This information will bear heavily on the Medicare Supplement you choose or whether or not to join an HMO.