Medicare physician, or not
Physicians express increasing frustration with the hovering threat of pay cuts and Congress' failure to offer more than temporary patches. Options are limited, leaving physicians struggling with whether to continue participating in Medicare.
Medicare physician, or not
Robert Mingea, MD, and Juliette Madrigal-Dersch, MD, share office space and unease with the Medicare program. Dr. Madrigal-Dersch, an internist, said "enough" several years ago. Dr. Mingea, a cardiologist, would like to stop participating in Medicare but fears it would be the end of his practice.
Medicare physician, or not
A sign on Dr. Madrigal-Dersch's office door reminds Medicare patients to renew their agreements to opt out of the federal program. The internist sees Medicare patients only on a private-contracting basis, which means neither she nor her patients can claim any payment from Medicare. It also means she can charge what her services actually cost, not just what the government says it will pay. She can choose not to charge anything, as is her policy for patients age 90 and older.
Medicare physician, or not
Since she stopped accepting Medicare, Dr. Madrigal-Dersch says, "I get a lot of patients referred to me from other doctors, not because I'm smarter than those other doctors, but because I can spend more time with patients."
Medicare physician, or not
"My patients are great, and I know they appreciate me," says Dr. Mingea. but Congress' failure to heed the pleas of organized medicine to enact a long-term SGR solution "is a slap in the face from the government."
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Posted with the May 3, 2010 issue - Accompanying article: Medicare pay
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