Question: If the federal government dictates the cost of Medicare/Medicaid how does decreasing money

that providers get increase amount seniors must pay?

This is a serious question. Having little understanding as to how Medicare works. could someone please, NICELY, explain how cutting payments to companies, that don't set the price or level of care, will affect the price and level of care?

I mean if you are paying for Medicare Part A, you will get Medicare Part A right? Even if the insurers pay more for it, they are still required by law to provide it if you pay your premium?


And isn't the premium set by Federal regulation??

Again.. I may be wrong...

is that health care providers will simply stop taking on Medicare/Medicaid patients because the reimbursment is too low to cover the treatment costs.

It isn't so much that premiums/costs to medicare/medicaid recipients will go up as much as it is they won't be able to find a doctor willing to treat them in the first place.

Thank you.

This is not good...

Providers also include drug companies, medical equipment suppliers, hospitals, and nursing homes. Drug companies and nursing homes would be most likely be be targeted. Both have been running up huge profit margins.

Many of my parents' neighbors have 3-4 hour drives to see a doctor who takes medicare - it's a full day trip and if they can't drive they need someone who can to take them. Doctors and other health service providers in their area quit taking new patients a few years ago so anyone who's moved there since can't get a nearby doctor. As reimbursement rates decrease, more doctors stop accepting new patients and some even drop existing patients.

And the doctors are not all doing this out of greed. I have a friend who is a family practitioner who has barely paid herself for about 3 years. She lives off her husband's salary and has given herself a paycheck about twice a year and it's less than what she pays anyone else in the office that month. She has lots of elderly patients on medicare and doesn't want to drop them or give them less attention (e.g. 10 minutes in/out, next) Medicare really does not cover expenses and is a big loss in most cases (unless you do the 10 minute in/out method which consultants have said she must do to survive)

For those items subject to coinsurance under Part B, the Medicare recipient pays 20%. If the reimbursement rate goes down, the senior's 20% goes down. If the item is not subject to coinsurance, the senior's cost is unaffected.