Doctor's Office Closes Up Shop Without Warning (Atlas Shrugs in CT)

NBCConnecticut.com ^ | Jun 19, 2010 | AMANDA RAUS

[raybbr]

Updated 12:15 AM EDT, Sat, Jun 19, 2010

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Laura Wojcik's little girl, Elizabeth, is due Saturday. So imagine her surprise when she learned she'd have to find another doctor for the delivery and find one in just one day.

"I was pretty upset because I love going here and everything. They're good doctors, and then I had to change," said Wojcik.

A doctor from the Norwich OB-GYN Group will be on call this weekend, but inside the office, the waiting room is empty, and there are no doctors in the exam rooms. The office stopped taking patients Thursday when it decided it could no longer meet the financial demands of running the practice.

"We've had a reduction in reimbursement from the state-funded insurances, because the budget situation, things had slowed down, so April, May were very slow, and June continued to be slow," said Bernadette Grecki, the practice administrator.

Add to that the payments from the largest state-funded insurance provider wouldn't be arriving till July, and the office says it had no choice but to close.

"It was too much for the doctor. He realized he couldn't keep funding the practice," said Grecki.

The group says it is working with other OB-GYN's in the area to accommodate patients, and the files of pregnant patients who are at 32 weeks or more have already been transferred to Backus Hospital, so doctors will be prepared when the women go into labor.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

He voluntarily chose to stop treating patients because he was too lazy to work for the money that was offered.

So you are supposed to work for any amount offered.

I offer you $22 to install my new hardwood floor. If you refuse, you are too lazy to work for the money that was offered.

[Willie Green]

So you are supposed to work for any amount offered.

No, just slither away silently and don't pi$$ and moan that it wasn't enough.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

No, just slither away silently and don't pi$$ and moan that it wasn't enough.

You would have a lot of experience with slithering.

[Osage Orange]

Wastoute is EXACTLY correct.

The AMA is now beholden to the Fed's who pour the feed into their trough...Their biggest money maker are those CPT codes. They no longer need the dues of Doctors....But the Fed's trot out the AMA all the time to support their agenda's...and the avg. Sheeple doesn't know the AMA doesn't even represent 20%of Doc's. Just another smoke and mirror lie the American Sheeple.

Most Physicians are NOT members of the AMA...and I'd guess most Doc's are conservative.

[Logophile]

The good doc bailed out because he's not getting enough of our tax money???

If you are arguing against tax-funded medical care, then I can agree with you. Let's get the government out of it.

While we are at it, let's get the government out of big, taxpayer-funded boondoggles such as high-speed passenger rail.

Build infrastructure instead.

"Infrastructure"? That is how Leftists describe taxpayer-funded boondoggles. Apparently you are not opposed to people sucking at the teat of the Nanny State, so long as the suckers are union members.

At least that way the workers EARN health care benefits instead of throwing billions into the pockets of greedy bleeding-heart welfare pimp doctors.

Poor Willie Green. You cannot make a cogent argument without resorting to name-calling, even if the names don't make sense.

You keep saying that doctors are overpaid and greedy. Please tell us how much doctors should earn, in your opinion. (Is it more or less than railroad employees?)

[Osage Orange]

I personally knew Doc's in SoCal that were making right at $100k gross a year...and had been Doc's for quite a few years.

Willie...you seem to have some class envy going on here.......

Just saying........

[Willie Green]

Willie...you seem to have some class envy going on here.......
Just saying........

Well you're a little late to the discussion, so here's a link to my reply #155 where I expose our overpaid doctor as a disgruntled, bleeding-heart, welfare pimp who's disgruntled that he's not leeching enough money from our MediScam system.

Please feel free to rejoin the discussion when you decide just how much of our tax money this doctor deserves.

[Willie Green]

"Infrastructure"? That is how Leftists describe taxpayer-funded boondoggles. Apparently you are not opposed to people sucking at the teat of the Nanny State, so long as the suckers are union members.

I categorically reject that dumbed-down libertarian hogwash.

You keep saying that doctors are overpaid and greedy. Please tell us how much doctors should earn, in your opinion. (Is it more or less than railroad employees?)

It has nothing to do with the relative earnings of one profession vs. another.

It's all about fleeting and wasteful government spending vs. long term investment with long term economic benefits.

Medical services are expensive and fleeting, producing little long term benefit for our economy.
Brick and mortar infrastructure provides lasting economic benefits that span decades and even generations: bridges, tunnels, highways, hydroelectric dams, levees, and yes, railroads too.

There's a major difference between spending on wasteful services or investing in infrastructure.
Politicians who don't understand that distinction are unworthy of holding public office.

[OldGoatCPO]

You do not EARN health care benefits, you PAY for them. The generation that fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam are the ones needing Medicare and Medicaid. They are also the generation that built this country into the most powerful nation on the planet. They are the ones sucking at the Nanny States tit, the doctors are running a business, providing a service for which they require compensation. It is the doctors who are refusing to suck on the government tit. Private insurance pays doctors fees at a higher rate, than the government. The government wants to pay less for the same services, despite the overhead paid by doctors to manage a practice. Insurance costs alone can exceed $100,000 annually. Even at a lower rate doctors would see patients on government health care if they were paid for their services in a timely manner. To pay the wages of their employees and meet overhead, doctors charge more against private insurance or limit the number of Medicare/Medicaid patients they see.
Doctors have to make a living, it is called capitalism and real conservatives encourage those who invest tens of thousands of dollars in an education to open a business, hire people and make a profit. Real conservatives are not envious of those who work hard and make more money than they do, that is the liberal version of penis envy.

Building an infrastructure that provides care at a fraction of the cost and determines what a doctor in private (note the word Private) practice can earn is called SOCIALISM. Are you advocating SOCIALISM? If you are advocating tort reform, and other means to reduce a doctors overhead, we agree. But since the Dims have prevented that type of reform, how do you suggest a Doctor maintain a practice under current laws?

[kaila]

You do not know how the system is run.
The physicians are forced to accept state run insurance.
i will give you an example:
A physician is required to take on call privileges at a hospital. A Medicaid patient arrives to the ER with a heart attack. The cardiologist has to treat him, or will get sued for abandonment. I am sure, for the low reimbursement that he was receiving, the cardiologist would rather stay home. You are just jealous. Pretty pathetic.

[Willie Green]

You do not EARN health care benefits, you PAY for them.

That's pretty silly rhetoric, OldGoat.
How do you pay for something you haven't earned?
Did you inherit all your wealth instead of working for it???

[kcvl]

So how is he ever going to survive if he's not raking in over $400K a year anymore?

That is before they pay their $250,000+ malpractice insurance!

[MayflowerMadam]

“So how is he ever going to survive if he’s not raking in over $400K a year anymore?”

Ignorant statement. Even if a doc took in $400K, the overhead is extreme and malpractice insurance is obscene. Even if a doc cleared $40K/year, so what? Hussein hasn’t completely annihilated the free enterprise — yet.

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “We’re going to be seeing more and more of this. Count on it.”

***************

I’ve seen it in L.A. — docs just deciding with little notice to pack it in.

Or, they are changing partners and joining other groups when one of a small group decides to quit.

A group of three that I dealt with is now down to one and he can’t handle the workload. If he didn’t have young kids, he’d retire ‘early’ too. He is 57 now. They seem to be scrambling around.

Trying to find a good ‘primary’ who is taking new patients is quite a task. Multiply this by the whole country and it’s bad, folks.

[Willie Green]

So how much more in taxes are YOU willing to pay to support the doctor’s lavish earnings???

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “Yeah, times are tough all over....

So how is he ever going to survive if he’s not raking in over $400K a year anymore?”

*******************

Clearly, CLEARLY, you are on the wrong site. What’s your ‘name’ at DU?

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “They don’t realize that there comes a point where an older doctor decides to retire and enjoy his remaining years. Cut reimbursements and raise his hassles, and that point comes sooner.”

****************

Here in L.A. many internists and even specialists are suddenly retiring at around 50-55. Some have stated they refuse to do business the way it’s required now. Those remaining in practice are often refusing to accept Medicare patients anymore. Who can blame them? The cost of doing business is through the roof for physicians - their actual ‘take’ is far less in most cases than what some people think.

[Willie Green]

Clearly, CLEARLY, you are on the wrong site. What’s your ‘name’ at DU?

Clearly you must be blind as a bat.
But I'll ask you also, since you seem to think the doctor is worth it.
So how much more are YOU willing to pay in taxes to help subsidize the doctor's lavish earnings?

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “We’re not talking about most physicians.
We’re talking about cardiologists

The average yearly salary for cardiologists working in 2010 is $285,000 per year. This is a general median value whereas the mean value is closer to $300,000 per year. Most starting cardiologists with less than two years of experience can expect to earn closer to $200,000 as a salary, while more experienced cardiologists may earn upwards of $400,000 per year or even more when prestige comes into play.
So a mediocre cardiologist with limited experience makes “only” $300K... and I’m supposed to feel sorry for him because he can no longer slave in the rat race for those “meager” earnings?

Oh cry me a river!”

****************

Still stuck on stupid, I see —

[Willie Green]

Still stuck on stupid, I see —

Yeah, yeah, yeah...
Blah, blah, blah...
I'm in no hurry... take your time....

Let us know when you get to the part where I ask you how much more you want to raise your own taxes to subsidize the good doctor's earnings...

We'll wait for you.