If going to practice in Ca

[PagNoDoctor]

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"Besides the elimination of Denti-Cal benefits, the state Department of Health Care Services no longer will pay for podiatry, optometry, audiology and psychology serv-ices for adults on Medi-Cal. Coverage will continue for children, pregnant women and residents of skilled nursing facilities."

How much effect will this have?

 

[NatCh]

"Besides the elimination of Denti-Cal benefits, the state Department of Health Care Services no longer will pay for podiatry, optometry, audiology and psychology serv-ices for adults on Medi-Cal. Coverage will continue for children, pregnant women and residents of skilled nursing facilities."

How much effect will this have?

Can I assume you're asking about what kind of effect will it have on the podiatrist?

Is Medi-Cal California's Medicaid? From a practice standpoint it probably won't have a huge effect, but I suppose it depends on what kind of coverage it gave before being eliminated, and what the patient population of your practice is.

If there's any similarity, Oregon's Medicaid only covers fractures and infections, and each of the doctors in my group (community office-based small private practice) sees only a dozen or so Medicaid patients per year.

 

[Podmeister]

The Medicaid program in CA has one of the lowest reimbursement rate in the entire nation, plus the constant headache of being audited by some clueness power trip nurse, scrutinizing the medical records line by line, asking stupid questions like, "What does NSAIDS stand for?", and then demanding the $21 back for the wasted 15 minute office visit.

I see around 20 Medi-cal patients a month and now that podiatry is no longer covered, they can still see me as cash patients...if they're willing to pay.

 

[PodunkUDPM]

The Medicaid program in CA has one of the lowest reimbursement rate in the entire nation, plus the constant headache of being audited by some clueness power trip nurse, scrutinizing the medical records line by line, asking stupid questions like, "What does NSAIDS stand for?", and then demanding the $21 back for the wasted 15 minute office visit.

I see around 20 Medi-cal patients a month and now that podiatry is no longer covered, they can still see me as cash patients...if they're willing to pay.

Wow. When did it get removed, and why?

 

[capo]

The Medicaid program in CA has one of the lowest reimbursement rate in the entire nation, plus the constant headache of being audited by some clueness power trip nurse, scrutinizing the medical records line by line, asking stupid questions like, "What does NSAIDS stand for?", and then demanding the $21 back for the wasted 15 minute office visit.

I see around 20 Medi-cal patients a month and now that podiatry is no longer covered, they can still see me as cash patients...if they're willing to pay.

Will this affect more DPM's as things get worse in CA? Is CA a good state or not that good, when it comes to DPM reimbursement? I would think with high cost of living it should be but that is not always true.

Though I agree it is not bread-and-butter patients to lose (Medicare/Medicaid ones) still, it can't be an advantage to lose a "state-paid person" vs. a self-pay (self-pay usually doesn't pay ever, they just get services for free as they don't care of their credit when in need of medicial help. 🙄)

 

[NatCh]

Will this affect more DPM's as things get worse in CA? Is CA a good state or not that good, when it comes to DPM reimbursement? I would think with high cost of living it should be but that is not always true.

Though I agree it is not bread-and-butter patients to lose (Medicare/Medicaid ones) still, it can't be an advantage to lose a "state-paid person" vs. a self-pay (self-pay usually doesn't pay ever, they just get services for free as they don't care of their credit when in need of medicial help. 🙄)

I think some guys would be rejoicing, as seeing Medicaid patients tends to lose money per time spent. Many practices close to Medicare because it hurts their business, and Medicaid pays less than Medicare.

 

[Podmeister]

Wow. When did it get removed, and why?

The state of California has a $42 billion budget deficit so cuts had to be made in health care, education, transportation, etc. Our governator Arnold will not survive the next state election and won't be saying, "I'LL BE BACCKKK!!!" any time soon.😀

Will this affect more DPM's as things get worse in CA? Is CA a good state or not that good, when it comes to DPM reimbursement? I would think with high cost of living it should be but that is not always true.

Though I agree it is not bread-and-butter patients to lose (Medicare/Medicaid ones) still, it can't be an advantage to lose a "state-paid person" vs. a self-pay (self-pay usually doesn't pay ever, they just get services for free as they don't care of their credit when in need of medicial help. 🙄)

Despite the high cost of living, it's not that bad.

I think some guys would be rejoicing, as seeing Medicaid patients tends to lose money per time spent. Many practices close to Medicare because it hurts their business, and Medicaid pays less than Medicare.

Honestly, I was jumping up and down with joy.

The only reason I'm still seeing Medi-cal patients is to accomodate patients referral from the multi-specialty groups. Gotta keep the other docs happy and keep the referrals coming. But now, it's out of my hands...blame it on the GOVERNATOR.👍

 

[NatCh]

Honestly, I was jumping up and down with joy.

The only reason I'm still seeing Medi-cal patients is to accomodate patients referral from the multi-specialty groups. Gotta keep the other docs happy and keep the referrals coming. But now, it's out of my hands...blame it on the GOVERNATOR.👍

I was guessing that was the honest reaction.

From a business perspective, we take the good with the bad when it comes to keeping referral sources happy. If you start cherry-picking then the referring docs sniff that out pretty quickly.

From a humanity perspective, we see those insured by Medicaid in order to provide health care to all persons (despite losing money on those visits). I've had some entry-wage single moms on Medicaid who really needed the help, so I gladly provided it. You don't feel bad about taking those cases.

 

[longstech]

If Title XIX passes this summer, then do you think that CA pods will obtain Medicaid rights again? I would imagine they would.

 

[cg2a93]

I never understood how dropping Podiatry saves money. Fracture, Ingrown nail, Pain in the foot dont go away just because a Podiatrist is not the one performing the service. In many cases it will cost more. I would love for some politician to explain how this saves money.