Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSpecialist
Exactly now if the Federal Government did the same thing healthcare would be significantly lower. If they can take what the insurance companies are giving and still be profitable, then they should start by using those rates.
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There's a reason many private practice doctors don't accept Medicaid (some won't event accept Medicare). The government sets pricing and then pays 60-75% of that actual price, if they pay at all. Also, medical offices that accept Medicare patients are subjected to significant increases in the amount of BS they have to deal with, including how they bill, manage records, operate their office and a ton of other things that increase overhead.
It is exactly the above reason that in some states Walgreens has stopped accepting Medicaid.
Again, it comes down to matter of leverage due to volume. The government has the leverage over many providers because of the volume of elderly patients on Medicare.
Some of the most successful private practice doctors that I know of have enough patients that they do not need to accept patients with Medicare/Medicaid. Not to mention they don't get stuck dealing with nearly as many people begging for pain pills, people that play the system to get disability checks and the other dregs of society.
Personally, I'd prefer the government to stay the hell out of setting prices. Make no mistake, government regulation is a major contributor to why health care costs are so high.