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COPYRIGHT 2002 International Medical News Group
The recent 5.4% decrease in Medicare reimbursement rates has started to take its toll on access to health care.
In Washington state, Medicare beneficiaries are finding it increasingly difficult to see a primary care physician or get a referral to a specialist. In a recent poll conducted by the Washington State Medical Association, 57% of physicians surveyed were either limiting Medicare patients or dropping all of their Medicare patients.
"Increasingly, physicians are being forced to choose between keeping their medical practices financially viable and treating all of the Medicare patients that need their services," the report said.
Other state medical associations are reporting similar trends, though most of the accounts are anecdotal. "I don't think people are blurting it out...
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