Posted on 10/02/2011 6:25:01 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state is preparing to limit Medicaid coverage of emergency room visits for non-emergency care.
State officials have notified clients that they will get coverage for only three of those visits each year starting Saturday. Additional visits will not be covered, and patients may be billed for that care.
(Excerpt) Read more at khq.com ...
That’s the reasoning alright
Yep, that will do it. People always overuse what they don’t have to pay for.
I don’t object to this, this is medicaid. Some have no choice but there are plenty of others on medicaid that have gamed the system and shouldn’t be on it anyway.
Actually, turning them away is a Federal crime.
Lawsuits are a minor problem, compared to EMTALA.
Took my mother in law to a hospital emergency room in Allentown,Pa. last Feb. I sat there from 5:00 PM til midnight & saw a constant parade of whole families that did not speak english go in for treatment of colds.(alleged colds) You hear about this stuff but it is a shock when you see it. There were no questions asked they just let them in. We pay for this crap. It needs to be changed as we all know.
Pay for your generosity with your own money. Not mine :-)
What services and medical costs does Medicaid cover?
Medicaid will pay for the services listed below. Some people are required to pay copayments for starred(*) services.
COVERED SERVICES:
ç Doctor visits/services *
ç Hospital services (Limits apply) *
ç Lab and X-ray
ç Dental care (Limits apply) *
ç Eye care (Limits apply) *
ç Prescribed Drugs
http://www.nd.gov/dhs/info/pubs/docs/dn-555-medicaid-brochure-1003.pdf
If more folks had skin in the game, they’d be far less likely to abuse the system. Our health insurance, for example, has a low three figure co-pay for ER visits. Even if we were inclined to abuse the ER, that co-pay would ensure that we don’t.
That’s my point. We don’t get to decide how our tax money is spent.
***Who determines what an emergency is?***
Triage.
Since hospitals will lose money with this limitation - perhaps they will organize ‘out-patient’ clinics for minor complaints, rather than clog up the ER beds & facilities.
Liberals will shelve this by asserting discrimination against ILLEGALS.
What percentage of your county’s budget goes to meet its Medicaid obligation?
I get medical care at our local health department. Usually I am one of maybe three non-Spanish patients. Like being in a foreign country. Are they here legally? Who knows?
You obviously haven’t ridden in a cab lately!
“”State officials have notified clients that they will get coverage for only three of those visits each year starting Saturday. Additional visits will not be covered, and patients may be billed for that care.””
The only reasons I can imagine a person would need to visit the emergency room more than three times per year is:
1. Overdosing on illegal drugs.
2. Bullet or knife wounds from illegal actions.
It seems Washington needs to toss some Medicaid patients into the slammer.
My Father-in-Law is a Dentist in WA State. His fees and services are highly dictated by the State and Insurance companies and it's nearly driving him out of business. He has not been able to raise his fees enough to keep up with his cost of running his office. He has said that he always wanted to have his own business, but he feels like he is now an employee of the State.
That would be interesting. If you want ER care, you have to first pass a drug test. Would probably clear out the ER real quick.
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