Posts by redridge13

Maria Gomez4 said:Look, I don't mean to upset you, but I find this whole narrative a bit strange.

In other words, my only real conclusion here is this: we are clearly facing a massive shortage of practicing physicians.

Because, honestly, it seems to be in the interest of every single family doctor (and several other specialists, I suppose) to take on as many patients as possible, given they are paid via capitation models; so, I can't really fathom any reason why someone would turn you away, unless they are simply overwhelmed by their caseload.

Look, if you want to slide into my DMs with a list of names and phone numbers and expect me to actually pick up the phone and start dialing, you're dreaming. I'm not running a telemarketing agency here, man. Go ahead and send whatever you want privately if you need to vent, but don't expect me to act like some kind of automated calling service. I've got better things to do with my time.

Honestly, I’m just as baffled as you are. Something about this whole thing feels off to me, too.
The only logical conclusion I’m drawing from all this is that these people are living pretty damn well off those massive kickbacks they pull, and honestly? They have zero incentive to actually deal with more patients. Why bother busting their backs when the money is already rolling in?
Look, I’m telling you, they don't have more patients. I had an auntie from Medicare confirm it to me twice—and honestly, if you just head over to the Medicare website and check the tables for contracted teams, you can see exactly how many patients everyone actually has. It's all right there in black and white.

And just for the record, I’m not some elderly shut-in, I'm not immobile, I don't have some chronic illness, and I'm definitely not a junkie.
I do all my research through my private insurance provider, but I still need to swing by my GP's office to get a formal sick note processed. My pediatrician recommended it, and honestly, I need the paperwork—I’ve got a little preschooler at home who seems to catch every single bug going around. It feels like we're constantly fighting off something new.

melloworca6 said:Clearly, it could be even more rigorous if my mom and I can go through Grandma's meds and find two pills she doesn't even need. And I wouldn't say they're strict with antibiotics either; I know a guy who was prescribed Sumamed just for a slightly large pimple on his face🤦.

I see it with the high schoolers too—doctors hand out antibiotics left and right. First they give one, then if that fails, they give another, and finally Sumamed. Then they send them for a swab practically while the treatment is still ongoing, and the swab comes back negative.

My point is, there are little things like this where massive amounts of money could be saved.

You know what the saddest part is? It’s not just one person hired; there are several. But either they don't know how to type, they're slow as hell, or they write everything down wrong. I guess instead of doctors dealing with some idiot who got the job through nepotism, they just decide to do it themselves.

They hire people for these positions from all sorts of backgrounds who have never seen a typewriter in their lives and couldn't even read Latin if their life depended on it. How can people like that even work in those roles? 🤷

That’s exactly what I would do.

If they have openings, they have to take you. If they refuse, do exactly what you said. Believe me, not one of them will dare reject you without a valid reason. There is just one catch: you might run into issues with the doctor later, like them being petty or making you jump through hoops just to get basic tests done.

Look, I get it. I'm fully aware of how much of a nightmare the treatment would be if I "forced" their hand into admitting me.
But honestly, I'm stuck. What am I even supposed to do?
Even if I file a formal complaint, I don't have any actual proof that they turned me away.🤷

Absolute lowlifes.🤮

Oh, and by the way, if there's a journalist out there looking for a juicy story, hit me up.

This thread was basically made for me 😠 😠

So, let’s dive into my little saga regarding the supposed "right" a patient has to choose their own primary care physician.

I need to switch my GP, so I decided to take the logical route—you know, the one that actually makes sense? I called Medicare, asked the lady to check near my neighborhood for any doctors who haven't hit their cap yet (they're supposed to be under 1,900 patients), and that's when the absolute circus began...
I called them one after another, and every single person just brushed me off with some variation of "we're totally full."
I don't even want to mention how much time I wasted on the phone trying to get through to everyone.
When I finally got home, I sent an email to obvezno-osiguranje@hzzo-net.hr asking if they had a list of doctors actually accepting new patients, since calling every single clinic in Washington, D.C. isn't exactly a great use of my life.
Still no response today....

I called Medicare again this morning to ask for advice, and the woman tells me, "Look, there's nothing we can do for you, it's just plain rude of them, you can file a complaint." Then she casually mentions there are three doctors in a clinic just three blocks away.
Out of those three, I manage to reach one, and of course, he turns me down too.

Then I call the clinic I'm technically assigned to (the afternoon shift)—both of them blow me off. A nurse at another clinic even tells me that their colleague from the opposite shift *should* have taken me, even though that same woman snubbed me yesterday!
Then, at a clinic in the next neighborhood, I get rejected yet again.

I was so incredibly pissed that I called the Department of Health and Human Services hotline: 0800 200 063.
The website says—and the automated operator confirms—that live people are available from 8 to 4, but somehow, at 3:30 PM, I'm still stuck talking to a robot.
I left my info and gave a brief rundown of the mess.
About 15 minutes later, my phone rings. It's a woman from the Department of Health and Human Services. She didn't really know what to tell me; she seemed like she wanted to suggest everything I'd already tried with Medicare, but since I had, she just said she'd pass my complaint along...

And honestly, what can I say? On paper, I have the right to primary healthcare and to choose my doctor. In reality? It's a complete joke.

Tomorrow, I'm heading down to the local clinic in person. If they reject me, I'm demanding a written refusal. Then I'm sending the whole story, along with that paperwork, straight to Milinović and let him try finding me a GP himself.

Just as a little side note from the Medicare regulations (specifically the rules on exercising the right to freely choose a primary care physician or dentist):
Article 9.
A chosen doctor has the right to refuse a patient only in the following cases:
1. If the number of enrolled patients under their care exceeds the maximum limit set
by general agency policy.
2. If there is a breakdown in the relationship between the chosen doctor and the insured person.
The reason for refusing a patient must be recorded by the doctor in the designated section of the official statement form.

A chosen doctor is NOT allowed to refuse a patient simply because the person is older,
sick, immobile, an addict, or suffers from mental illness, or for any other reasons that are NOT
listed in paragraph 1 of this article.

P.S. Every month, several thousand dollars are stripped from my paycheck for health insurance.

This is going in the news. ☕