What Is A Medicare Patient To Do?

With the mounting deficit and calls to curtail government spending, what is in store for Medicare and Medicaid patients? Will we see more healthcare rationing, more hospital supervised euthanasia, or will these patients be left where they are to suffer an undignified death? As a retired person on Medicare, I can believe all of this and more as our government forces euthanasia on the less fortunate.

Inhumane is a word that comes to mind. Just how far will all this be taken remains to be seen; however, I foresee some of our worst nightmares coming true as the medical community lobbies for higher and higher profit margins. I do not like raising these alarms, but as the saying goes, I do not want to be the only one left speaking out when they come for me.

Will the votes of the “baby-boom generation” and earlier generations be nullified by legislators that refuse to listen to their constituents? Judging by what the trend has been for the last few years, this seems likely to happen. Just because our federal legislators are insulated with extremely good medical care, they can look past those that have a need for medical care.

This article in Medscape points out how our medical community thinks. It points out how our physicians are willing to protect their profits. While I can believe a little of their needs, they seem most unwilling to consider any compromise and will stop seeing Medicare patients if congress does not give them what they want. They are laying out their intentions with a boldness unheard of before.

When 82% of the physicians say they will stop seeing new Medicare patients or severely limit access to existing Medicare patients, this cannot be a good thing for the patients.

While the Medscape article says nothing about the stance of hospitals, many of the physicians are employed by hospitals. It seems likely that the hospitals are in this as well

This is a warning to current and future Medicare patients about the future access to medical care – it is not going to be there for us, unless you are independently wealthy enough to pay your way.