Posted on 04/19/2014 9:40:27 PM PDT by grundle
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX 5) While open enrollment for coverage under the Affordable Care Act is closed, many of the newly insured are finding they cant find doctors, landing them into a state described as medical homelessness.
Rotacare, a free clinic for the uninsured in Mountain View, is dealing with the problem firsthand.
Mirella Nguyen works at the clinic said staffers dutifully helped uninsured clients sign up for Obamacare so they would no longer need the free clinic.
But months later, the clinics former patients are coming back to the clinic begging for help. Theyre coming back to us now and saying I cant find a doctor, said Nguyen.
Thinn Ong was thrilled to qualify for a subsidy on the health care exchange. She is paying $200 a month in premiums. But the single mother of two is asking, what for?
Yeah, I sign it. I got it. But wheres my doctor? Whos my doctor? I dont know, said a frustrated Ong.
Nguyen said the newly insured patients checked the physicians lists they were provided and were told they werent accepting new patients or they did not participate in the plan.
And Nguyen says while the free clinic isnt technically supposed to be treating former patents they signed up for insurance, they cant in good faith turn them away.
Dr. Kevin Grumbach of UCSF called the phenomenon medical homelessness, where patients are caught adrift in a system woefully short of primary care doctors.
Those who cant find a doctor are supposed to lodge a complaint with state regulators, who have been denying the existence of a doctor shortage for months.
Meanwhile, the sick and insured cant get appointments.
What good is coverage if you cant use it? Nguyen said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com ...
Wait til the employer mandate kicks in.
Then we’ll all be screwed.
It was not appropriate and you know that.
Blue Cross (all company plans are pretty much the same) Medicare Supplement plan F. Still have to pay for Part B and Part D (another $150/month or so). And that $163.91 is what I paid last week. In her first year she had about $300k in expenses and we paid $0. This a PPO so you pick your doctor and don’t need a referral for a specialist. But a referral from a good doctor gets you in quicker.
If you say so.
Sounds too good to be true... What state is that and really did you have your choice of Doctors? If that is really true, I want to get into that. Does it depend upon how many years you applied or some other rules? Really, sounds too good to be true...
You know it’s true or you would not be so apathetic regarding your response. I’m ashamed that you as a veteran would say such things. You know better or you would not have even responded... I can understand if you were just making light of the subject...but..that did not come across.
And I have always looked up to you in most cases as an example of our generation of veterans.
Look, if these people came here as refugees from the war I have NO PROBLEM with them getting the same healthcare as anyone else, but if they snuck in or piggybacked I have a problem, just like I would an illegal Mexican, Honduran, Irish or whatever. How do we tell? This whole thing is completely unsustainable, and you know it. Do you like paying over 50% of your income in taxes?
Sustainable yes... I agree, it was just your statement. Our beloved Republicans seem to think that the solution is to bring more cheap labor into the mix. Not my idea of a fix.
I’m sure that we actually agree on the solution, I just took offense with your statement especially when the Republicans seem to want more immigration and less checks. Politics has become a very loose thing when it involves immigration. There seems to be no one that supports the public position.
Who said I was a Republican? I used to be, when I was much, much younger.
Heh, was not inferring that you were... Actually, I am no longer a Republican either but surely can NOT be a Democrat! So, that lets me out in the pasture as a non-believer of sorts I guess...ha. Politics seem to be for the idiots these days it seems. Welcome to the crowd!
Holy crap! The Koch Brothers strike again!
Thanks but of course the Doctors that take Medicare are scarce here. Looking at the costs, it is still very expensive for extra coverage but thanks for the information.
If TX doctors who take Medicare are scarce I’ll bet it is really bad for Obamacare.
Yes, it was bad before in southern cities (Corpus Christi) and worse now. Same for Veterans Hospital benefits, only in San Antonio... Better to just die and get it over with seems like the optimal policy...
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