To be honest, I don't use my primary care physician for too much these past few years. Given that I'm down at the VA every other month for things, they end up taking care of most things. But, I still keep him on the books as it were, just for insurance and other reasons.
Up til now that is. Got a letter yesterday he's sent to all his patients on his decision to retire at the end of the year, primarily due to costs and requirements associated with the new health care laws (in particular, that he be required to digitize decades worth of records and such, at his own cost).
While it doesn't particularly hurt my health needs - especially as he's provided a referral to another practice already - it worries me wondering how many others are dealing with this...
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My gynecologist is also closing his practice, for the same reason. And I JUST found him, and he's the best doctor I've ever been to. :(
Closing practices, that's how... sigh
We've been dumped off our PPO and put on a high-deductible plan... Obamacare-required services are utterly free, and otherwise we have to rack up $8,000 before we're covered.
Obamacare-required services are, currently, all nothing but routine care. Now if I go to a doctor and my (for instance) blood pressure is fine, then it's for free.
But if I go in for a routine appointment and he finds something, it is retroactively no longer routine, and I might be suddenly charged hundreds of dollars to be given a treatment I can't afford.
So I'm not going to go to the Obamacare-covered appointments. Basically, it'll be as if I don't have medical insurance at all.
Pretty much as I expected. I know a random discussion at work has found several people affected through other practices.
Right now I'm just happy I'm still with the VA - apparently, there are more and more issues coming up there as well for new people. Though I find it interesting, to say in the nicest way possible, that they're working to get more and more of the patients onto the PTSD/mental health rolls with the service... no thanks.
In our case, he was a grumpy old man who should have retired years ago. He called me fat and overweight when I was 5 months pregnant (I started off as a size 6 and gained 35 pounds the entire pregnancy). Private practices have been digitizing records for years--but this man never even installed a credit card machine. I switched primary care doctors a while ago..and not to one he recommended!
As far as our own insurance...everything remains pretty much the same. Premiums, deductibles and co-pays (still no co-pay for our kiddos' well visits). The biggest difference is that our daughter will not be denied coverage due to her arthritis should we need to switch insurance policies. I'm good with that.
It's only the beginning. Obamacare cuts the already low reimbursement rates for primary care doctors while increasing their regulatory work load.
While Dori might be happy now, she won't be in a year or two.
Gothelittle Rose described quite accurately the Kafkaesque situation for the "free" services mandate by Obamacare. It covers just about everything you don't need and nothing that you do need.
Back in my yout, I worked in retail electronics. One of the products we came with included "free" batteries. They were crappy batteries and we always suggested that customers buy an extra set.
We'd tell them that free batteries were like free advice. Worth exactly what you paid for them.
Such is how it is and will be with Obamacare. Only it won't be free when you realize how much you are paying in taxes to fund it.
In response to TOTWTYTR...my comment was made to point out that the retiring doctor the good Captain was referring to should have retired years ago (FYI, I'm Mrs. Captain Tighpants.)
I in no way believe we receive anything for free. We end up paying for it one way or another. However, knowing that our chronically ill daughter can not be denied coverage (even if our premiums *do* go up because of her disease), certainly does help me sleep at night. Tonight. Tomorrow. Two years from now. Ten years from now.
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