> I learned that Dr. Reich and Dr. Redan refuse to accept Medicare's method of
> payment for adhesiolysis procedures ... and rightly so!! Adhesiolysis
> procedures are reimbursed by Medicare to surgeons at one standard
> fee...without any consideration given to the length of time an adhesiolysis
> procedure can take -- nor any consideration given to the skill and
> experience of the surgeons!
Well, perhaps rightly so, but I don't agree. Medicare is an insurance program for the elderly and disabled. It does set reimbursement levels for various procedures. It used to be that medicare would pay a certain amount, but patients could be required to pay an additional amount.
Now, doctors have to agree either to accept what medicare will pay and not charge some medicare patients more than that -- or receive NO payments from medicare.
For individuals who have the dollars to pay cash for medical care this is fine -- but most of us who either elderly or disabled don't have that kind of available cash. Costs have to be kept reasonable for us.
On principle -- even if I had the money -- I would not go to a doctor who refuses to be a part of medicare. That person discriminates against the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. I want nothing to do with him or her.
Helen, medicare is not preventing you from receiving treatment from Dr. Reich. Dr. Reich is preventing medicare from paying for your surgery by his policy.
This has nothing to do with New York or Pennsylvania. I assume that St. Vincents accepts medicare assignment and thus medicare will pay for those aspects of your treatment that are not fees to Reich and his practice.
This is the state of health care in the United States today. Drs Reich and Redan have chosen to opt out of medicare. I don't know what insurance they will accept, but, as I see it, this is a form of discrimination.
As for paying for the experience and skill of the surgeons under medicare, how would we ever determine that. What a mess. Medicare is certainly not perfect, but without it where would older people and the disabled be?
Kate
-- Kate Murphy katemm@mindspring.com