Doctors have had enough...

It seems that doctors are getting tired of having their patients chosen for them by the government.

California physicians turning away new patients

As Medicare’s 4.4% pay cut is compounded by a 5% cut in Medi-Cal, California Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries are finding it more difficult to find a doctor.

Greg Knoll, an attorney who directs the Consumer Center for Health Education and Advocacy in San Diego said that he frequently cannot find a doctor for poor patients.

Escondido internist Akber Safi closed his practice in June and opened an import-export business. He said that “Medicare, Medi-Cal and insurance company bureaucracy wouldn’t allow me to do what I’m trained to do—take care of patients.”

According to AMA projections, physicians’ expenses will increase 15% between now and 2011, while Medicare fees are to be slashed by 26%. Medi-Cal fees in California are near the bottom of Medicaid payments nationwide, and HMO payment rates, which often track Medicare’s, are 30% less than the national average.

If Congress overrides the cut, Medicare beneficiaries will have to absorb $3 to $4 billion of the $10.8 billion in restored payments, said Kirsten Sloan, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Retired Persons. She accuses physicians of trying to make a point at the expense of patients’ health

Don't get me wrong. I do not draw any joy from people who cannot obtain health care that they seek. However, I do draw joy at the collapse of government orchestrated health care systems. I believe that a withdrawl from the medical field by politicians, coupled with sensible reform of our legal system in the area of malpractice suits would dramatically reduce the numbers of "poor" people unable to find the health care they seek.