snugs, those on Medicare can only have what Medicare is willing to pay for. If the family wants the patient to stay longer in the hospital and is willing to pay for it, they are not allowed to do so.
Doctors can only take what fees Medicare will reimburse. If they try to recoup their actual costs they end up in trouble with the law. This is why some doctors won’t take Medicare patients. Others (like my orthopaedic guy) make up the shortfall by charging higher fees to insurance companies who pay for younger patients, hence the higher medical costs. Medicare is actually the cause of much of the higher insurance costs for under 65 Americans.
Nine out of ten Medicare recipients, including myself and my wife, have private, supplementary insurance to cover what Medicare doesn't. My doctor charges me the market rate and then is reimbursed by Medicare and my private insurance company.
It is Medicaid that is the problem. Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals are already so low – 30 to 40 percent less than under Medicare, that a growing number of doctors and hosptials don't accept Medicaid patients.