Mayo Clinic Arizona no longer accepts Medicare……………….
The _Arizona Republic_
(http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2009/10/09/20091009biz-mayoclinic1009.html) reports: “One of the
Mayo Clinic’s two family-medicine practices in Arizona soon will stop
accepting _Medicare_
(http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/medicare-medicaid/whatismedicare.php) , leaving thousands of patients to pay out of pocket for
routine doctor’s visits or find a new physician.” The changes go in effect on
Jan. 1 and apply to primary-care services at the Mayo Clinic Family
Medicine-Arrowhead. “Hospital officials called the new policy a ‘two-year pilot
program’ and said Thursday that the changes are necessary because of low
Medicare reimbursement rates.” According to R. Scott Gorman, vice chairman of
the executive-operations team at Mayo Clinic of Arizona, “Medicare
reimbursement rates have remained stagnant over the past decade, while inflation for
medical services has increased 4 percent to 8 percent annually.” Patients
at Arrowhead were given names of other family-care doctors who accepted
Medicare, should they decide to change physicians, said Gorman (Rough, 10/9).
_The Philadelphia Inquirer_
(http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20091009_Aetna_dropping_some_Medicare_supplement_subscribers.html)
reports: “Aetna Inc. has advised 8,500 area customers that it will terminate
two of its Medicare Advantage plans at the end of this year. Independence
Blue Cross has given the same notices to 44,000 individual subscribers who
depend on four plans it offers. Other insurers in other markets are also
making cuts. Meanwhile, area offices for the aging are being swamped with
calls as worried senior citizens try to figure out whether their plans are
affected.”
“With Congress looking to Medicare savings to bankroll its plans for
health reform, insurers around the country that sell Medicare Advantage plans
are cutting back their offerings for 2010, saying federal reimbursements are
too small. Reimbursements for Medicare Advantage plans will be down 4
percent, the insurers said, even as medical costs for doctors and hospitals
continue to increase. … Nationally, 24.2 percent of the 45.5 million people
who qualify for Medicare use Medicare Advantage plans” (Bergen, 10/9).
This information was reprinted from _kaiserhealthnews.org_
(http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/) with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search
the archives and sign up for email delivery at _kaiserhealthnews.org_
(http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/) .
© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Lori Branda, RN CPUM X 22521
VISN Utilization Management
“What gets measured gets managed”
Dr. Peter Drucker
Jake R. Wood C.P., FAAOP
O&P Associates, Inc.
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