Florida Doctors Refusing Obamacare Enrollees Out of Fear They Won’t Get Paid
Doctors in Florida are refusing patients with Obamacare coverage out of fear that their bills will slip through the cracks and won’t get paid. Many Floridians are finding that their cheap plans won’t get them access to doctors even when the plan says they’re approved.
From the Telegraph:
Some physicians say they’re concerned they won’t be paid for their services by either the insurer or the patient, and that insurers are not adequately informing doctors of their inclusion in exchange plan networks.
“You don’t want to be in a situation where you provide service, and turn around and there’s no contract in place to reimburse you,” said Jay Millson, executive vice president of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.
One Obamacare enrollee said that in the lobby of a clinic where he was turned away was a large sign reading, ‘We do not accept anything from the marketplace (Obamacare).’” At another office, the same person said a screaming match ensued among the doctor, a lab technician and the receptionist that “humiliated” him in front of the entire waiting room.
It’s unknown how many of the 983,775 Floridians who selected a private plan have been turned away by doctors in their network, but Florida’s Department of Financial Services reported receiving 63 complaints from consumers who bought a plan on the ACA exchange but could not get in to see a physician in their network.
…Wasserman Schultz issued a statement saying she has heard from “a couple of constituents” about this issue. “My staff has raised it with the Department of Health and Human Services as well as directly with some of the insurance companies. … I believe the onus is on the insurers and the providers to bridge this gap and provide reliable, consistent customer service.”
Doctors are concerned about unknowingly being signed up to serve patients who don’t have the means to pay their large co-payment. Some haven’t even received payment from Obamacare exchange plans, and they’ve been told to collect money from patients up front and have them deal with the insurance companies.
Maybe someone should have read about this bill before we passed it?
