What I learned when trying to find a doctor to give hubby a physical.

Hubby hasn't been sick with anything other than the occasional cold or stomach bug. He eats well, most of the time, and exercises (swims). He hasn't complained of any health problems, but since his 50th b-day is coming up, he wanted a checkup.

The first choice was a doctor he saw five years ago. The doctor wasn't taking any "new" patients, and Hubby didn't qualify because it had been five years since he saw him last. It didn't matter that the doctor was my doctor also.

The next one I called wasn't taking new patients either.

The next one I called said he'd take him, even see him this week, but verified not only that we had insurance, but it was a brand they were okay with working with. (I wonder with ins cos are not welcome?)

Just for fun, I called two more. One wasn't accepting new patients, the next one was, but it depended on what is ailment was, and what insurance he had.

My mother-in-law's doctor in a small city won't take TriCare or any insurance any more. They lowered their rates and take cash only for office visits.

The big ones seem to know who is and isn't accepting new patients though it could be outdated. It's a list to start with, I suppose.

It's hard finding it the other way around, since the chances are you find a doc you like and want to be with but they won't take your insurance, and if that doc ends up being your primary care physician and that PCP refers you elsewhere, that referral may not be taking your insurance either.

Wonderful fun and games, isn't it? (insert sarcasm tag).

Not just in the booklet they issue that supposedly lists all the in-network providers, and not just on their website. When I call on the phone and talk to a person to get names and numbers of local providers, even THAT information is outdated and incorrect, every time.

I have few complaints (yet) about the actual coverage, since they've actually been pretty good about paying. But it's always such a hassle.

... my therapist was listed at the wrong address!

However it is a good starting point and if there are inaccuracies these can be reported and the insurance company know appropriately. But then again my insurance has clout I guess since it's not really Aetna or Cigna or Blue Cross Blue Shield paying the bills, it's my employer self-insuring us.

Do I really need to insert the "sarcasm" smilie???

weren't accepting new pts. Total bullshit.

It was hard to find current phone numbers, even with a new phone book. I got a fax machine once, and two disconnected numbers for docs still operating practices here.

I've been lucky, if you can call it that, to find rheumatologists who were just starting practice. I had no primary doc for 16 years until a doc who was sick of the HMO boogie opened a storefront practice. He's been adding associates, so I imagine he'll be at capacity soon.

Forget being scheduled for routine physicals and screening. That just isn't going to happen when you're self pay unless you've got enough to pay a concierge doc.

The health insurance system in this country maximizes cruelty and inefficiency.

It's got to go.

either. He is full up and can barely keep up with the ones he has. He has a waiting list and people who are family members of current patients are given first preference.
I think when we do get a public option, there will be a great need for more family practice docs right away. They seem to be a dying breed anymore due to low compensation.

He says the dearth of General Practitioners is because their reimbursement rate is so bad. He thinks that specialists like him should take a cut and give it to the GPs. I was really suprised to hear him say that but he is really a good and honorable person along with being a fantastic Dr.

I found a 'cash only' place.

the white house....it says it all.

accept most insurance carriers. It's worth a try, anyhow. Give 'em a call. A lot of them do employment physicals as a regular thing, so they're set up for it.

:shrug:

was there a point you were trying to make?

it's the same way with auto repair shops- there are some that won't deal with some insurance companies.
i would think that most dr.s tend to try to belong to as many 'networks' as possible- but it probably also varies from state-to-state, and region-to-region.

also- this is one of the worst times of year to try and get a physical, due to all the kids going back to school who need them.

that make it perfectly clear that if you don't have insurance or can't pay up front, you will not be seen . . . period . . . not just one sign, but two or three in the waiting room, one on the front door, and at least one in every examining room . . . she's making it absolutely clear that her primary concern is not the patient, but whether the patient can pay in full and on time . . .

so if that bothers me so much, why don't I switch doctors? . . . because that would require a referral by my primary, and she happens to be the only endocrinologist he works with . . . thinking about switching my primary? . . . most are not taking new patients, particularly patients on Medicare . . .

although neither doctor is ideal, at least I have doctors, which puts me ahead of many . . .

both benefit from higher rates
docs for obvious reasons and insureance companies because with medical expenses up, they can charge what ever they want and blame it on the docs.

Single payer is the ONLY way to go period.

The hospital sent my test results to our family physician and said I needed to see him within a week. My DH had been seeing him but I hadn't been there in years. When I called the Dr. office, the staff told me they weren't taking new patients and I had been dropped from their system. I asked if they'd received my hospital test results and they told me they probably threw them away since I was no longer a current patient.

I went through the same thing you did with finding so many Dr's not taking new patients, outdated info in both the insurance book and on their online participating Dr's page. I finally found one but it took some time.

My daughter's Dr's closed up their office within this past year. They had been our family physician years ago so she'd been using them for about 20 years. My husband and I had to stop when they no longer accepted our insurance back in the 90's. They sent a letter to my daughter saying the insurance redtape and insurance slow payment had created financial problems for them and since they'd lost one partner to a move out of state and they couldn't find a quality replacement, they would no longer be able to keep the office open. So they closed. They also told her where to send for her years and years of records...for a fee per page.

My son and DIL heard of 2 new Dr's opening an office this past spring, right before my hospitalization. They were lucky they got in. It was just a few weeks later when I tried calling them and they were already no longer accepting new patients...they filled up that quickly.

practitioners, doesn't necessarily say anything about quality.

Another idea is to get a personal referral from someone you respect and trust, and see if that person has openings. If possible go outside the network if you have to, pay privately for quality if you can. Sad, but very true.

So much for "choice" within this dys-system we have!!

<snip> But there is an existing group of providers that health reformers are hoping can help fill this gap: nurse practitioners. Depending on the state in which they practice, nurse practitioners, with advanced training often including master's degrees in nursing, can often treat patients and diagnose ailments as well as prescribe medication. And they can do these things at a lower cost than doctors — Medicare, for example, reimburses nurse practitioners 85% of what is paid to doctors for the same services.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1914222,00.html

They had signs up at the desk introducing them to the patients.