It appears to give the patient every right that patients with regular insurance (it's in their handbooks) have however, I have learned a few things from my daughter (a front office specialist)about how Medicaid and Medicare work. Medicaid and Medicare are contracted with the doctor's offices to pay less for services than standard insurance companies pay. The patients are a dime a dozen so to speak and while you can complain, speak with your doctor, etc, the chances that the doctors will choose to cease your doctor/patient relationship after doing so, is high. Many Medicaid patients are limited in their physician choices. Even more so than standard insurance companies.

Many physician's offices who list that they accept Medicaid or Medicare, state that they are not taking new patients. I heard that on every visit I ever made to my former PCP. Now why would they take us if they don't have to? Regular insurance companies pay more.

Also, in many areas that have a medical school nearby, have teaching facilities or practices and it is pretty much a given that they (a state university) are contracted with Medicaid and Medicare as providers. In fact, there are few doctors I have available to me that are not part of the university teaching program. While these offices get paid less for their services, they get an unlimited supply of patients and special educational kick backs.

One would think that being a patient in an office that is a teaching facility would be of benefit because they know all the new and upcoming medical information, but my experience has shown me that:

You have less time with your doctor (15 minutes in my case).

They are more apt to treat you as a mental case.

They are more apt to treat you as a drug seeker.

They are less apt to listen to your concerns or questions regarding their treatment choices.

These offices are more apt to patronize you. I overheard one comment ("well, how could they know better than us? I have a college degree and a job and if they had college degrees, they wouldn't need Medicaid.")

Medicaid insurance providers are less apt to cover new medications such as Lyrica and like to have their doctors prescribe OTC available prescriptions.

The entire university health system here has a general rule about not providing samples to patients (it has something to do with the drug seeker thing) so while they have closets of samples brought in by the drug reps, we never get them. They give them to their standard insurance patients.

Medicaid insurance providers are less apt to approve MRI's or other notoriously expensive testing unless you have a medically apparent injury. ie, they won't approve the test to exclude a diagnosis or if it is a debatable test for the symptom.

I was told, in my initial interview for Medicaid, that I would probably not get the high level of medical treatment I was used to and while unfortunate, at least I had medical coverage. I had explained the issues I had with my former Neurosurgeon and was told that I really had no choice however, I could always pay to see my own doctors should I choose. How's that for shutting someone up?

I am a tiny bit fortunate in that I give feedback to my daughter and she leaks it to her managers and I am taken a tiny bit more seriously than your average Medicaid patient because she gives me some clout. It takes twice as long to get anything done regardless. Anyway, there has to be a way to get through to these doctors without fear of losing our health insurance. I just wish I could think of some way.

Ksdmjd feel free to contact me privately if you need more info.

So Here goes. I was in a relationship years before I met my husband. Anyways I was going to a doc with this person. Then I also became a patient of this doc. We were both having trouble with remembering things. So one day I took a micro tape recorder with me to record the appt. The doc never said anything about it tell the end of the examination when he grabbed the recorder and took the tape and said he did not want us to record anything he ever said in a meeting. I had done this with other docs and had no problems. Then my relationship ended and all of a sudden I got a letter from the doc office releasing me from his care. There was no clear reason given. I stopped in one day when I knew the doc was not in. I talked with the office workers. I was told that the reason he did that was because of his country's beliefs. That the man is more important and that I kept our home and had him moved out, the doc would no longer see me.

he was a good doc, just being from another country, he was against women getting anything. Made me feel like he had no respect for me because I am a woman. He was from Egypt. It is so hard to find an American doc anymore, so I am very careful about what I tell my docs now. I dont know if any of this is really part of this topic. I just needed to share this with others.

dragonfly

lazy, poverty-stricken, or unmotivated to be able to hold down a good-paying full time job with good benefits. That is often the attitude of most of the office staff at doc's offices, clinics, and hospitals.

Medicaid patients are seen and treated as inferior beings, and therefore, less deserving of a higher standard of treatment. It's "do the bare minimum, give 'em their Rx, and get 'em outta here!"

Medicaid patients are generally viewed as uneducated, unsophisticated,

unmotivated, and shiftless, lazy, neurotic losers and drug-seekers.

I have been on a Medicaid HMO plan for a couple of years now, and despite all of the indignities, I am grateful, because for over 5 years I did not qualify for any insurance at all....and had to do without a lot of medical exams and Rx I needed, and let my teeth rot because I could not pay for the dentists and docs visits or the Rx.

Soon more than 48 million Americans will be without health insurance!

So....I try to suck it up and be grateful that I am getting some assistance and at least able to get most of the medical care I need, even though it might be not as good as what private care patients receive, and my choices are more limited. I have been pretty lucky in that I have found an internist who wanted to help those who are the poorest and the sickest, and a good portion of her patients are Medicaid and Medicare. There are some good old fashioned compassionate docs out there who will spend time and not talk down to you, but it takes patience to find one.

Our medical system is broken....and badly needs fixed.

Until then, we do what we have to do to get our needs taken care of, even when that process is difficult and/or humiliating.

I laugh everytime I see an ad on TV that says "sit down and talk to your doctor about the treatment or alternative treatments"

Jan

May your troubles be less, Your blessings be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door!

My daughter needed a vagus nerve stimulator put in to help with seizures and the doctor said the hospital had not been getting paid by her insurance for hospital stays and if we had it put in there (the insurance would pay for the stimulator) we would be liable for the bill because as of that time the hospital was not approved. We had to go to another hospital to have it done.

So if you go doctor hunting (and decide to see one not covered by insurance) check with your insurance carrier to see if anything he does is covered. Just passing along a little info here so don't get upset if you find out your state or insurance is different