Hi folks, I'm doing research to help my dad who is 73. He uses medicare as his secondary and works a full time job in order to use a different primary insurance. I want him to work less but the reason he works where he works is because of the other primary insurance. He is concerned that by giving up that job and working less, he won't be able to get good enough doctors under medicare. I don't believe this is true but what do I know, I'm 44 years old! Any general encouragement and general facts that you can provide to help me help my dad have a better lifestyle (work less, please), would be much appreciated.--Chris
Medicare Information and Discussions
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Medicare Fears
- Thread starter cbc
- Start date
Where I live most all doctors take Medicare, so he would be seeing the same Doctors. If he enjoys working and/or needs the money he should keep working. But I don't see doing it just to avoid having Medicare as a primary insurer because it is far better than any private insurance that I ever had.
Also you can get a supplement plan to pay that portion that Medicare don't pay and your total bill will not be very much at all compared to what it would be to go out and purchase the coverage in the private sector.
Also you can get a supplement plan to pay that portion that Medicare don't pay and your total bill will not be very much at all compared to what it would be to go out and purchase the coverage in the private sector.
Kyle Henson
New Member
I agree with Mack...it's not really anything to be concerned about...yet. Many studies have been done on these trends and the percentage of doctors accepting Medicare has been pretty steady over the past 10 years. In fact, according to one study, that percentage has risen about 3% from 2005-2012:
By: Adele Shartzer, Rachael Zuckerman, Audrey McDowell, and Richard Kronick
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, August 2013
Key Findings:
- According to federal survey data, the percentage of all office-based physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients has not changed significantly between 2005 and 2012, with 87.9% of physicians accepting new Medicare patients in 2005 and 90.7% in 2012.
- The percentage of physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients is similar to, and in recent years slightly higher than, the percentage accepting new privately insured patients.
- Medicare beneficiary access to care is high and has remained stable over the past five years.
According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data, there were about 650,000 physicians who participated in the Medicare program in 2011 and nearly 1 million participating providers in total (including non-physician providers such as nurse practitioners). It is clear from the data the percentage of all physicians who accept new Medicare patients has been stable from 2005 to 2012. To the extent that there may have been a very small increase in the number of providers ‘opting out’, that increase has been mitigated by an increase in the share of other physicians who accept new Medicare patients. Further, the total number of providers participating in and billing Medicare has steadily increased since 2007.
These findings allay concern that the number of physicians ‘opting out’ of Medicare has increased in recent years.[4] (Footnote 4: Beck, M. “More Doctors Steer Clear of Medicare”, Wall Street Journal 7/29/13 p.A1, vCCLXII #24. This article reported that the number of physicians opting out of Medicare increased from 3,700 in 2009 to 9,539 in 2012.)
A 2005 study examining characteristics of providers opting out of Medicare found that overall less than one percent of providers eligible to opt out of Medicare did so, and the two specialties with the highest opt out percentages were psychiatrists (with 1.11% opting out) and plastic and reconstructive surgeons (with 1.56% opting out). In contrast, about a third of one percent of primary care physicians (0.35%) opted out of Medicare.
In its March 2013 Report to Congress, based on this and other federal surveys, MedPAC noted that Medicare beneficiaries report good access to care, and access to physicians’ services has remained stable over the past five years. Similarly, the large majority of beneficiaries had no problems getting an appointment with a new physician, and again the results are comparable to those for people with private insurance. Additionally, Medicare beneficiaries were less likely than the privately insured to report forgoing needed medical care (8% vs. 11%) in 2012.
Conclusion
Approximately 90% of all office-based physicians report accepting new Medicare patients. The percentage of physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients is similar to the percentage of physicians who report accepting new privately insured patients. In addition, the share accepting new Medicare patients has been relatively stable over the 2005-2012 period and shows a slight increase in 2011-2012 based on initial NAMCS data. Beneficiary reports of access to care, including the ability to find a physician and see a doctor in a timely manner, are also favorable. Again, these results are comparable to reports by patients with private insurance and have been stable over time. Overall, Medicare beneficiary access to care has been consistently high over the last decade and continues to be high today.
By: Adele Shartzer, Rachael Zuckerman, Audrey McDowell, and Richard Kronick
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, August 2013
Key Findings:
- According to federal survey data, the percentage of all office-based physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients has not changed significantly between 2005 and 2012, with 87.9% of physicians accepting new Medicare patients in 2005 and 90.7% in 2012.
- The percentage of physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients is similar to, and in recent years slightly higher than, the percentage accepting new privately insured patients.
- Medicare beneficiary access to care is high and has remained stable over the past five years.
According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data, there were about 650,000 physicians who participated in the Medicare program in 2011 and nearly 1 million participating providers in total (including non-physician providers such as nurse practitioners). It is clear from the data the percentage of all physicians who accept new Medicare patients has been stable from 2005 to 2012. To the extent that there may have been a very small increase in the number of providers ‘opting out’, that increase has been mitigated by an increase in the share of other physicians who accept new Medicare patients. Further, the total number of providers participating in and billing Medicare has steadily increased since 2007.
These findings allay concern that the number of physicians ‘opting out’ of Medicare has increased in recent years.[4] (Footnote 4: Beck, M. “More Doctors Steer Clear of Medicare”, Wall Street Journal 7/29/13 p.A1, vCCLXII #24. This article reported that the number of physicians opting out of Medicare increased from 3,700 in 2009 to 9,539 in 2012.)
A 2005 study examining characteristics of providers opting out of Medicare found that overall less than one percent of providers eligible to opt out of Medicare did so, and the two specialties with the highest opt out percentages were psychiatrists (with 1.11% opting out) and plastic and reconstructive surgeons (with 1.56% opting out). In contrast, about a third of one percent of primary care physicians (0.35%) opted out of Medicare.
In its March 2013 Report to Congress, based on this and other federal surveys, MedPAC noted that Medicare beneficiaries report good access to care, and access to physicians’ services has remained stable over the past five years. Similarly, the large majority of beneficiaries had no problems getting an appointment with a new physician, and again the results are comparable to those for people with private insurance. Additionally, Medicare beneficiaries were less likely than the privately insured to report forgoing needed medical care (8% vs. 11%) in 2012.
Conclusion
Approximately 90% of all office-based physicians report accepting new Medicare patients. The percentage of physicians who report accepting new Medicare patients is similar to the percentage of physicians who report accepting new privately insured patients. In addition, the share accepting new Medicare patients has been relatively stable over the 2005-2012 period and shows a slight increase in 2011-2012 based on initial NAMCS data. Beneficiary reports of access to care, including the ability to find a physician and see a doctor in a timely manner, are also favorable. Again, these results are comparable to reports by patients with private insurance and have been stable over time. Overall, Medicare beneficiary access to care has been consistently high over the last decade and continues to be high today.
Don't forget to consider costs when making this change. His insurance premiums could go up or even down based on what his current employer is charging. Also, his coverage could improve if he signed up for a Medicare supplement. Find out if he is currently paying for Medicare Part B. If not, add $104.90/month, but you can subtract what he is currently paying for his primary premium. You will then need to add the premium for his Medicare supplement, and a Medicare Part D drug plan. Most important...don't overlook the drug coverage, many employer plans will cover drugs better than Medicare Part D due to the coverage gap. If your dad takes any expensive drugs, I would start researching there first.
Kyle Henson said: