HEALTH DISPARITIES BLOG

November 19, 2008

links for 2008-11-19

• Payment Hassles, Not Just Stinginess, Turn Doctors Off Medicaid
  As Democrats in Congress consider covering more of the uninsured kids by expanding Medicaid, they may want to consider this: Fewer doctors are accepting Medicaid patients not just because fees are so low, but because it often takes months to get paid.
• Many doctors plan to quit or cut back
  60 percent of 12,000 general practice physicians would not recommend medicine as a career.
• Docs aren't happy, and if docs aren't happy ....
  U.S. doctors seem to be fed up. Within the next three years, a new survey shows, almost half are considering cutting back on patients or simply halting their practice. Already, more than three-quarters say, there's a shortage of primary care doctors.