Doctors and Medicare

A page at the American Medical association web site says that they need help. They want the people to contact their congressfilk to ensure that the Medicare payment levels stay where they are -- else the doctors will, regretfully, have to slice the number of people they can see per day, which translates into having to wait longer to see a doctor. Unless, of course, you're one of those people paying for caviar medicine, but the site doesn't mention that.

I guess I don't understand that. I suspect they mean 'well, we can't afford to see you for free, or for the amount that you can personally pay, so without Medicare paying part or all of the freight, we're not going to see you at all'. If so, thats a fair financial decision. I doubt anyone expects them to do it for free, and I suspect that some number of doctors do a portion of what they do on a pro-bono basis. They have the same right to a living as anyone else, and except for the docs pulling in the major bucks, I don't begrudge them. (Isn't that nice of me?)

But to imply that Medicare payment cuts will force them to make a change to the number of people they see -- sorry, I don't buy that. It'd be their choice, not the government. Now, that aside -- should the government reduce spending on Medicare? The older I get, the clearer (and more selfish) that answer becomes. But I'll make an offer: cut it for my routine things that I can afford to pay, which are probably going to be more than others can pay. But keep it around as a stopgap, if I need it.

Would that work? Heck, I don't know. Hope so, though.