One of our members posed some very good questions about whether a private doctor is allowed to treat a Medicaid beneficiary as a private patient–and whether, once signed up for Medicaid, a patient is allowed only the care he can get under that program.
We have sent a letter to CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner and a press release concerning the letter.
It would help if others would send a similar letter to her, with a copy to medical and civic organizations, news outlets, and members of Congress. And please forward AAPS a copy of any replies.
Here is the letter:
February 18, 2014
Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
1500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, Maryland 21244
Dear Ms. Tavenner:
On behalf of our members and our patients, I am seeking the answers to several questions that have come up with regard to patients being enrolled in Medicaid through the healthcare Exchanges.
First, is it possible for a patient who is enrolled in Medicaid through the Exchange to disenroll? If so, what is the procedure for doing so?
Second, if the person is enrolled in Medicaid, is he or she given a disclosure about potential estate recovery? As you know, as a consequence of the Affordable Care Act, enrollment in Medicaid may now be contingent only upon income, not assets, so many of the people who are being enrolled have assets that potentially could be seized upon their death. If disclosure is made, are the provisions guaranteed to apply at the time of the person’s death, or could these be changed by state law at some future time?
Third, if a person is enrolled in Medicaid, does he or she have the option of simply not using these benefits and seeking private care? If the patient does choose to pay a physician or facility privately, is the physician or facility potentially subject to fine or prosecution because of accepting the payment?
Many Americans do not wish to be dependent upon the Medicaid program for their medical care. This may be because they would prefer to provide for their own needs rather than being dependent upon the government. Increasingly, it will be because patients are unable to obtain timely or high quality care because of the bureaucratic restraints and price controls that govern Medicaid.
We would appreciate a prompt and specific answer to these questions so that we may make the agency’s official position known to physicians and patients.
Sincerely yours,
Jane M. Orient, M.D.
Executive Director
