The United States healthcare system has had its troubles for many years. Government health insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid were put in place to assist those at a medical disadvantage regarding disability, age, and financial need. Medicare is federally operated for people over 65 and can also cover younger disabled individuals; Medicaid is state operated for low-income individuals. Although these programs help, they need to be improved.
Many doctors decline to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients due to the program’s complicated paperwork and doctor repayment methods. “The payment amount doctors receive for providing services, are on average lower for Medicaid than Medicare or private coverage. About 19 percent of the initial claims submitted to Medicaid are not paid in full. For Medicare and for the private insurers, that share is much lower: 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively” (Vox).
Rick Stewart is one of the many individuals with this type of health coverage and wanted to share his personal experience. He explained how he decided to find a new doctor because the overall service of his current doctor made it clear that his medical needs were secondary and a nuisance. Stewart stated he was shocked to discover how challenging it would become.
Stewart’s quest began by calling Medicaid and requesting information on doctors within his area who took his medical coverage.
He then proceeded to call several doctors from the list they provided. The doctors he called were either retired, unable to take his insurance, not accepting new patients, or had atrocious reviews and a lack of experience. The disabled population of the United States has another issue besides limited coverage: finding good doctors who will dignify themselves by providing essential medical care.
“If someone is disabled, why should they be made to receive treatment as a second-class citizen?” Stewart replied.
Continuing the quest for a doctor, he called Medicaid again. The customer service representative was pleasant and helpful and offered to call doctors on his behalf. Soon after, she too was subject to the never-ending loop of being transferred from one medical center to the next with the gleaming but shortly lived hope of finding someone who would take the insurance. She had no luck and told Stewart she was placing a grievance with the advocate team and wished him a nice day.
Stewart continued by explaining how he then contacted his personal Medicare representative to see if he could help find a general doctor. After a few days, his representative found a doctor in Stewart’s area who took the insurance, accepted new patients and had good reviews. He took the first available appointment they had, which was three weeks down the road.
Much to his dismay, when he arrived at the doctor’s office, it was located at a residential home and had a delivery of new blood vials opened and subject to the elements sitting in the driveway surrounded by litter. Still holding out hope, Stewart walked in to be greeted by a filthy waiting area and was informed by the receptionist, upon giving her his driver’s license and insurance card, that she would need to check with the doctor to see if they could accept him as a patient. Needless to say, he is currently still searching for a new doctor.
Stewart’s experience with government-provided medical insurance is not an isolated incident. Countless other Americans suffer the same hardships when seeking medical help. A process that should be straightforward, even with the aid of their customer service, took more than a month of continuous calling and scheduling, only to end in failure. Why, as a nation, are we accepting our government-funded health insurance to be so inadequate, making the lives of our elderly and disabled so difficult?
Without having health insurance, one cannot survive within the United States and remain financially solvent. One day, let’s hope changes will occur to our government funded health insurances that will mean the less fortunate in our society will be able to receive the same essential care as people with private insurance.
By Alexander Fernandez
LNT Reporter
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