When there is a long wait to see a doctor, do you think medical appointments should be prioritized by:
Existing vs New Patient
Urgency of the Medical Issue
Medicaid vs Private Insurance
My doctor will take me the same or next day if it’s urgent. For a regular appointment it’s a few months, the last time I scheduled my yearly appointment it was a 4 month wait.
Urgency for the ER or urgent care centers. To a lesser extent for doc visits.
Mot sure why the other criteria would be considered.
@mcarley - Policies of the doctor’s office. Some medical practices will not accept new patients or certain types of medical insurance. One of my friends needs to find a new doctor because the one she has used for years decided to change his medical practice to an expensive concierge practice will no longer accept health insurance.
First come first served for doctor visit, if its urgent you go to ER or urgent care. Ive got a skin thing so going to see a dermatologist, soonest appointment is 4 weeks out and im good with it.
That’s a problem here. With the expansion of Medicare Advantage Plans to hospitals as well as insurance companies, a lot of doctors have joined those plans and limit their patients to plan members. Also, it’s been reported that 20-25% of doctors here don’t take new Medicare patients We don’t have a advantage plan (grossly misnamed btw), so it is somewhat hard to find a new doctor when you need one. After my wife had a stent installed, she told her cardio rehab team that she wanted a PCP in the hospital system that did the work. One cardio rehab staffer tried to get her a referral to system doc but it failed. The PhD physical therapist who was overseeing her rehab progress made a couple of calls and got her a PCP.
What I don’t like is when I have an appointment for a Specialist will most of the time see a Physician’s Assistant instead.
Yet will still have to pay the increased rate.
Which one of these would be the priority and why?
Private insurance because they pay more. More doctors are not accepting new Medicare or Medicaid patients, and for good reason.
A couple months ago a woman waw on a local Facebook page whining about doctors not accepting new Medicaid patients, but were accepting new patients with private insurance. Yeah, doctors expect to be paid what they’re worth.
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Got it.
I wish more practices would adopt an insurance-free model. I’m guessing that hasn’t caught on bc the public isn’t interested and is still laboring under the delusion that paying a third party middleman for routine procedures and non-threatening conditions is cost effective.
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Obamacare basically makes a system that works impossible. Unfortunately lefties are still sucking Obama’s balls and will fight any changes to their messiahs legacy.
This problem predates Obamacare and I imagine conservatives are part of the problem.
It seems like most everybody is happy to try like hell to live at others’ expense.
YOur hero promised to repeal and replace it with something “really great” 8 years ago…yet we still have it.
That’s the Democrats’ fault.
That’s what he’s said, even pointed out 70 times Republicans tried to repeal it but the democrats stopped them. But that was before Trump was president. That was in response to a question I asked about why Trump tried once and quit…only to promise an even better “concept” in 2024.
I don’t think Trump is going to get healthcare fixed. He’s got too much business that’s more pressing.
If he does manage to disrupt it and goes for universal federally funded care, I’m not going to be happy, but I think that is the second likeliest outcome (the likeliest being no change).
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This guy gets it.
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Yep and he failed, that doesn’t change the fact that Obamacare sucks and isn’t working as promised. Any complaints about health care in America should be directed to Obama and the democrats that passed it.
But Trump promised. Then failed. then played golf. Again and again and again. Never making one single move to get something done. Kind of like took his ball and went home. Yet 7 years later is running a once again, saying he has a great concept. But that is always overlooked with “promises made, promises kept”.
But Obama promised families would save $2,500 a year. That was a lie.
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