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Anyone here in Massachusetts? State officials said on TV last night that the universal coverage law accomplished just what they wanted and is working great. there are only two problems.

1) A shortage of pcps
2) It doesn't contain cost. So they want to put a cap on what doctors and hospitals can charge.

On the pcp shortage issue, did they legislate that all doctors HAD TO ACCEPT this plan's patients? Because it seems as if it would have primarily expanded Medicaid-coverage, and since that pays so little (at least here it does) it could just be a shortage of pcps willing to work for FREE!

So really, anyone in Mass that can tell us from an honest perspective how its working out?

This is interesting as I just had conversation about this with one of my patients yesterdays.

How is it that lawyers that make laws love to tell us what we can charge but they don't limit what they charge an hour. It is funny that when i was joining my first job, I needed a contract lawyer, so he charged me $400 an hour to look at my contract. And said he did 7 hours work. How does that work, where is their FREAKING DOCUMENTATION!!!!

Did someone tell mechanics what they can charge. . .

I have an idea: screw the insurance thing...lets make it all cash pay not regulate anything ang lets make it a free market system and let docs compete with each other on prices and costs and all that...maybe it will make it all fair!

Frankly, that is what I believe all doctors functioning as "primary care providers" should do. ALL OF THEM. Its hard to require patients choose a network doctor when there are no doctors in your network.

I also believe, at least at the primary care level, that insurance should really work like the old indemnity model. The insurance pays say 80% of the fee. Whatever the fee is! Or even of their opinion of the "usual rate." But the patient is responsible for the remainder. This does add some market forces back in, because people can decide how much over the insurance payment they are willing to pay for their doctor. And they have to file for the reimbursement..they pay at time of service. You can electronically file the claim for them to be nice if you wish....

I am lucky i am just doing specialty medicine...but the problem with that is that i don't get on HMO's..one in particular from the hospital. . .that has a ton of patients that i can get referred to me...i know hmos suck but right now i am only seeing 40 patietns a week so i will take what i can get !

I think everyone should be cash pay, period. the whole system is crap. . .bu the problem is for surgeries, hospitals all overcharge.

We need to reset the whole damn system and start over! And not let big brother involved as they haven't been able to fix anything!

Ketan

But,still....anyone here from Massachusettes?

I think anyone smart enough to use Amazing Charts has already left the state.

who would want to live up that way anyway? ooops i forgot this thing was started in RI! lol

Ketan

LOL

Yeah, better watch out. I hear that the winter has already started in Maine and the wild things are getting hungry.

You need to be careful; people are sensitive. I made a comment about cold weather states in another thread, and they tried to link me to a cannibal.

Ketan,

Isn't Mr. Obama from Il??

Well, that depends. He was a senator from IL. But he spent a lot of time before that in Hawaii, talk about a change in weather. Anyway, it's a balmy 41 and I don't mean centigrade, in Chitown right now.