[FITZ]

I guess we'd in theory lose the about 20% of our total revenues generated by these programs (which BTW, consumes a lot more than 20% of our time).

It is complicated. The reimbursement might be less --- but then again it is the Medicaid/Medicare patients who go to doctors and hospitals the most. Partly because the healthy working types are less likely to need doctors or lab tests or nursing care, doctors are lucky to see them once a year or so. You see the children and infants of the Medicaid class actually admitted to the hospital more often --- doctors will assume the educated parents can care for a child with a fever or a premature infant but keep the children of the Medicaid hospitalized longer just because the parent is less capable.

[Ethrane]

"It is complicated. The reimbursement might be less --- but then again it is the Medicaid/Medicare patients who go to doctors and hospitals the most. Partly because the healthy working types are less likely to need doctors or lab tests or nursing care, doctors are lucky to see them once a year or so. You see the children and infants of the Medicaid class actually admitted to the hospital more often --- doctors will assume the educated parents can care for a child with a fever or a premature infant but keep the children of the Medicaid hospitalized longer just because the parent is less capable."

But being that caring for these individuals is a MONEY LOSER for me and my practice, I wouldn't mind them seeing me less. NO business is better than business that LOSES MONEY.

And, I would definitely say that the CHIEF reason Medicaid patients (and to a lesser degree Medicare patients) seek more medical care than those with private insurance is that there is NO DIRECT COSTS to them (or very little with medicare) to do so.

We used to see this in the military health system all the time, as at the time, the was NO co-pay....people would go to the ER and wait for 4 hours to have their child seen with a runny nose and a slight fever jsut to get free OTC meds, rather than go to the drugstore and pay $10 for some tylenol and sudafed.

And, you are correct in noting that these patients are treated differently after they arrive at the health care facility...if you have doubts as to the parents ability and/or willingness to follow through with a treatment plan, they might get admitted whereas someone with more intelligence/ability to care for a youngster would get sent home. While the hospital might make money on this transaction, the Doctor sure does not.