Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why not just bill higher for an appointment? The fact that Medicare doesn't pay much is not the patient's problem. Why are they billing for nothing that has transpired? How is this not concerning, and yes, sketchy?
I have a specialist who gives out his phone # (hopefully it's not abused, but I'm sure it is,) calls to check in frequently, orders tests from his living room if he has to. Medicare pays a fraction of his bill and yet he isn't finding hidden workarounds to get paid more.And yet my primary care dr, who is managing none of this, is asking for more money for managing this? He's not managing this.
What?
I guess they all can refuse Medicare, but I'm not sure why the patient will fill the gap here considering there's Medicare and Supplemental policy. If the supplemental policy refuses, how is that the patient's problem?
Because the cost of appointments isn't the issue. Mountainous administrative hassle (preauthorizations, script refills, fighting insurance companies, etc) and communication with patients outside of appointments (a million portal messages about side effects, do-I-need-to-be-seen-for-this, etc) is the issue, and this tends to be related to managing people with chronic issues. Could you bill more for appointments to offset that? Maybe in theory; but Medicare isn't going to allow for that. No one is "finding hidden workarounds" here; doctors are just trying to get paid for the labor that has gone unpaid for a very long time and had finally hit completely unsustainable.
That said, it sounds like you pcp doesn't have to manage anything for you. Fine. Just opt out of this fee or whatever.
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