With the Senate Finance Committee Bill has finally reached the Senate floor, it looks that a bill (with or without a public option plan) will be heading for the conference committee to be reconciled with the House Bill. By the end of the year, if not sooner, a Reform Bill will be on its way to the White House which would certainly be signed by the President. Short of a “mishap” or a “disaster” (or for Republicans a ‘miracle’), an overhaul of the US Health Care system is in our future.
Judging the outcome as ‘Good or Bad’ will await implementation of the final bill. Such judgment is not however the intent of this Blog. Given the broad outline of the bill, the issue that I would like to address here, which is in my view has been overlooked or swept away under the congressional rug is “access to medical care”.
The fact that the bill, assuming its passage, mandates that “one and all” be enrolled in a health insurance plan and that it would penalize those without insurance, the expectation is that some 31 million uninsured persons will have access to the US Health Care System. The prospect of being insured does not automatically translate into access to medical care. Let me elaborate. Unless you are covered by an employer plan, providers of health insurance (at least in my city) insist that the would be insured individual or family , (a) has a primary care physician, (b) must be registered with the primary care physician and (c) that said physician be on the insurance company approved list of physicians. Whether applying for insurance by phone, e-mail or by letter, the application is terminated (no enrollment is activated) unless and until these three (a, b and c) questions are answered in the ‘positive’. As an example, let us say that a formally uninsured person heads the requirement of the new Health Care Law and contacts say BC/BS agent. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the agent will get to the heart of the matter: take down responses to a set of questions on the enrollment form. After a few questions such as age, sex, occupation, the next question is whether the would be enrollee has a primary care physician. If the answer is ‘no’, the enrollment process terminates. The applicant could come back for enrollment after securing a primary care physician and either be seen by said physician or be on his/her register. If indeed, by some ‘miracle’, ‘good luck’ or whatever an uninsured individual has a primary care physician and that the individual is indeed registered with said primary care physician, then the next question for enrollment is whether the primary care physician is on the approved list of the insurance company. If not the enrollment process terminates. Of course, the insurance company is more than happy to supply the applicant with names from their list for the applicant to contact and once again the company agent tells the would be enrollee that once any one of those physicians accepts the applicant and be registered, the applicant can contact the insurance company again to proceed with the enrollment process.
That does not sound to be such a difficult task. In the age of the internet, it is supposed to be quick and easy to contact your chosen primary care physician(s). No such luck. It is amazing for those of us in academia (most of us any way) to contemplate not responding even in the negative to someone who address us via e-mail, phone, fax or in other media. In the case of primary care physicians you may not be able to go that “minuscule” mile.+ Talking from experience, as I shall elaborate below.
Primary care physicians who have posting on the web (most of the time those physicians are staff members at some medical school), will enumerate their expertise, specialties, research and so forth but give no valid phone number or fax—and if valid, no one responds when you call and the fax is inoperative. But that is not so bad, what is bad is that almost all with those glorious “bio” end up the write up with the “standard phrase” (DO NOT ACCEPT NEW PATIENTS). So, the search continues. The next search vehicle is to go back to the list of providers that are listed on the web of the selected insurance carrier as accepting new patients. Unfortunately, it seems that such a list is not current because at the point of contact, once again the sentence (DO NOT ACCEPT NEW PATIENTS) dwarfs everything else.
How to circumvent this? Some of us who did research or writings about comparative health care systems (US and UK) in the 1980’s and the 1990’s were, back then, smug enough to point out to our British colleagues the deficiencies of their health care system. Most of said deficiencies had to do with access to medical care: the long waiting lists for registering with a physician; denial of some procedures like kidney dialysis or transplants to some patients (those over 55 years of age)—i.e. rationing of medical care. Well, with no access to a primary care physician you might as well not bother with the quality of access.
What I have put down here is not fiction or a made up story to knock down the reform. Rather the intent is to seek a fix to a problem that will plague the health care access in the US following the enactment of the reform bill.
I, an insured person for more than 30 years, had the same primary care physician over this period, with excellent insurance coverage faced the same problem—access to services of a “primary care provider”, following the retirement in October 2009 of my primary care physician. The Group practice or clinic that was willing to take on the patients of my primary care physician looked promising enough for me to seek the services of one of their “internal medicine” physician. Having settled on one of the four, I called the office to get an appointment or as the insurance company agent have put it “get registered”. I was told sorry: this physician does not take new patients, another one, my second choice was also unavailable. Thinking that well for the time being I should register with whoever was available, I was then informed that the group practice does not accept my insurance. At that point I was not willing to continue the dialogue—not my first choice and not my insurance! At first, the group practice (a clinic or whatever it is called) responses did not in the least bother me. As the saying goes: “don’t cry over the fish that got away, there are more fish in the sea”. My search for the “elusive” primary care physician proceeded with a vigor. I decided to find out, first of all, which insurance carrier in my city has the largest list of providers; which carrier (because of something or other) has a wide acceptance by physicians, hospitals, etc and which in addition provides the type of plan I seek (PPO or Preferred Provider). Having thoroughly identified such a company (call it X company), I called to switch insurance provider. I called and get the “X” company brochure. I looked at their coverage and was satisfied that it offered the plan I sought. So I contacted the representative. I was told I can enroll by phone. Delighted (no paperwork), the process began. Guess what? Can’t proceed without “a primary care physician”. I informed the agent that my physician has just retired. Sorry about that but get another , get seen by the new primary care physician, get registered then call back to get enrolled. I was given their website to look for a primary care physician who will take new patients. Once again, I did what was expected—contact those on the insurance company list. Waiting for responses from those who did not list by now the dreaded phrase (DO NOT TAKE NEW PATIENTS), I decided to expand my search by asking a few MD specialists who have known me over the years as well as friends for help. I was delighted with their responses. I got names of at least 20 primary care physicians. I e-mailed some (I felt that as professors at a medical school, and I am also an academic professor at a University, the chances for a response even in the negative is likely); called the numbers I was given, but the response turned out to be the same. A central agency operator answered my inquiries about all the physicians I wanted to contact: “None take, new patients but you can be ‘wait listed’ on one or two”. A total waste of my time. Fortunately, a family friend, a former professor at my university suggested I contact his physician. Haleluya—the physician was on the list of the insurance carrier I wanted to subscribe. His office staff was decent enough to register me over the phone and secure an appointment for me. Having done that, I contacted the X-company insurance agent to enroll and was accepted by the insurance company to proceed with enrollment.
As my appointment with the new primary care physician is a bit far in the future, I have asked his staff: suppose that I get ill between now and then; what do they suggest I should do? Well, you would have to go to the hospital’s emergency room to be seen by the ER physician on call.
That is what I mean about ACCESS. I am not or should not be viewed as a FORTUNE teller, but the access problem which is tough enough as it is will get worse, a lot worse unless the problem of access to services of a primary care physician is addressed. Many of us have heard of communities with no primary care physician in sight, of the waiting lists (some reported some 300 people on one physician’s waiting list), the long wait for an appointment, the delay in seeing the physician and so on, but until faced with it one does not appreciate the severity of the problem. There are several reasons for such shortages. Foremost, among them is the differential in pay, prestige associated with specialization and hence the decline in enrollment of medical students in internal medicine.
A recent GAO study, (February 12, 2008),: “Primary Care Professionals: Recent Supply Trends, Projections, and Valuation of Services”, provide information on supply of primary care professionals for 2 years, the base year of 1995 and the recent year, 2005. According to the study, there was 264,086 primary care physicians in 1995 compared to 208,187 in 2005, which gives 90 primary care physicians per 100,000 people in 2005. In 1995 the rate was 80, hence an annual rate of increase of 1.17. This obviously does not give a full picture. More recent data is needed as well as the regional distribution of physicians and, the number of enrollees, office visits and waiting time. Nonetheless, the growth although miniscule should mitigate the problem if it were to continue in future years. *
Hopefully, my experience is an aberration, that there are more primary care physicians out there—if so, well and good. If not, something should be done, and done soon. It is incumbent upon our law-makers to look into this problem before hospital ER are overloaded with patients who are simply there because they have no access to primary care physicians.
A more serious issue is how to get an insurance policy without being registered with a primary care physician. Maybe insurance carriers outside of my city do not have this requirement. If so, I wish to hear from them so perhaps this requirement would be eliminated. In such a case, specialists or other medical practitioners perhaps could fill the bill.
While writing this note, I thought of the British man who was poking the sand on some beach with his metal rod searching for gold. It took him a lifetime to find his gold; I hope it doesn’t take our newly insured citizens that long to get their gold.
+ To be fair, I got one reply. Unfortunately, the physician was not a general practitioner.
* In my next Blog, I shall provide more data on physician per capita, office visits and other pertinent information. Also, a video about the Health Care Reform Bill was suggested by rosa@newsy.com which can be accessed at http://www.newsy.com/videos/health_care_reform_in_2009.
Judging the outcome as ‘Good or Bad’ will await implementation of the final bill. Such judgment is not however the intent of this Blog. Given the broad outline of the bill, the issue that I would like to address here, which is in my view has been overlooked or swept away under the congressional rug is “access to medical care”.
The fact that the bill, assuming its passage, mandates that “one and all” be enrolled in a health insurance plan and that it would penalize those without insurance, the expectation is that some 31 million uninsured persons will have access to the US Health Care System. The prospect of being insured does not automatically translate into access to medical care. Let me elaborate. Unless you are covered by an employer plan, providers of health insurance (at least in my city) insist that the would be insured individual or family , (a) has a primary care physician, (b) must be registered with the primary care physician and (c) that said physician be on the insurance company approved list of physicians. Whether applying for insurance by phone, e-mail or by letter, the application is terminated (no enrollment is activated) unless and until these three (a, b and c) questions are answered in the ‘positive’. As an example, let us say that a formally uninsured person heads the requirement of the new Health Care Law and contacts say BC/BS agent. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the agent will get to the heart of the matter: take down responses to a set of questions on the enrollment form. After a few questions such as age, sex, occupation, the next question is whether the would be enrollee has a primary care physician. If the answer is ‘no’, the enrollment process terminates. The applicant could come back for enrollment after securing a primary care physician and either be seen by said physician or be on his/her register. If indeed, by some ‘miracle’, ‘good luck’ or whatever an uninsured individual has a primary care physician and that the individual is indeed registered with said primary care physician, then the next question for enrollment is whether the primary care physician is on the approved list of the insurance company. If not the enrollment process terminates. Of course, the insurance company is more than happy to supply the applicant with names from their list for the applicant to contact and once again the company agent tells the would be enrollee that once any one of those physicians accepts the applicant and be registered, the applicant can contact the insurance company again to proceed with the enrollment process.
That does not sound to be such a difficult task. In the age of the internet, it is supposed to be quick and easy to contact your chosen primary care physician(s). No such luck. It is amazing for those of us in academia (most of us any way) to contemplate not responding even in the negative to someone who address us via e-mail, phone, fax or in other media. In the case of primary care physicians you may not be able to go that “minuscule” mile.+ Talking from experience, as I shall elaborate below.
Primary care physicians who have posting on the web (most of the time those physicians are staff members at some medical school), will enumerate their expertise, specialties, research and so forth but give no valid phone number or fax—and if valid, no one responds when you call and the fax is inoperative. But that is not so bad, what is bad is that almost all with those glorious “bio” end up the write up with the “standard phrase” (DO NOT ACCEPT NEW PATIENTS). So, the search continues. The next search vehicle is to go back to the list of providers that are listed on the web of the selected insurance carrier as accepting new patients. Unfortunately, it seems that such a list is not current because at the point of contact, once again the sentence (DO NOT ACCEPT NEW PATIENTS) dwarfs everything else.
How to circumvent this? Some of us who did research or writings about comparative health care systems (US and UK) in the 1980’s and the 1990’s were, back then, smug enough to point out to our British colleagues the deficiencies of their health care system. Most of said deficiencies had to do with access to medical care: the long waiting lists for registering with a physician; denial of some procedures like kidney dialysis or transplants to some patients (those over 55 years of age)—i.e. rationing of medical care. Well, with no access to a primary care physician you might as well not bother with the quality of access.
What I have put down here is not fiction or a made up story to knock down the reform. Rather the intent is to seek a fix to a problem that will plague the health care access in the US following the enactment of the reform bill.
I, an insured person for more than 30 years, had the same primary care physician over this period, with excellent insurance coverage faced the same problem—access to services of a “primary care provider”, following the retirement in October 2009 of my primary care physician. The Group practice or clinic that was willing to take on the patients of my primary care physician looked promising enough for me to seek the services of one of their “internal medicine” physician. Having settled on one of the four, I called the office to get an appointment or as the insurance company agent have put it “get registered”. I was told sorry: this physician does not take new patients, another one, my second choice was also unavailable. Thinking that well for the time being I should register with whoever was available, I was then informed that the group practice does not accept my insurance. At that point I was not willing to continue the dialogue—not my first choice and not my insurance! At first, the group practice (a clinic or whatever it is called) responses did not in the least bother me. As the saying goes: “don’t cry over the fish that got away, there are more fish in the sea”. My search for the “elusive” primary care physician proceeded with a vigor. I decided to find out, first of all, which insurance carrier in my city has the largest list of providers; which carrier (because of something or other) has a wide acceptance by physicians, hospitals, etc and which in addition provides the type of plan I seek (PPO or Preferred Provider). Having thoroughly identified such a company (call it X company), I called to switch insurance provider. I called and get the “X” company brochure. I looked at their coverage and was satisfied that it offered the plan I sought. So I contacted the representative. I was told I can enroll by phone. Delighted (no paperwork), the process began. Guess what? Can’t proceed without “a primary care physician”. I informed the agent that my physician has just retired. Sorry about that but get another , get seen by the new primary care physician, get registered then call back to get enrolled. I was given their website to look for a primary care physician who will take new patients. Once again, I did what was expected—contact those on the insurance company list. Waiting for responses from those who did not list by now the dreaded phrase (DO NOT TAKE NEW PATIENTS), I decided to expand my search by asking a few MD specialists who have known me over the years as well as friends for help. I was delighted with their responses. I got names of at least 20 primary care physicians. I e-mailed some (I felt that as professors at a medical school, and I am also an academic professor at a University, the chances for a response even in the negative is likely); called the numbers I was given, but the response turned out to be the same. A central agency operator answered my inquiries about all the physicians I wanted to contact: “None take, new patients but you can be ‘wait listed’ on one or two”. A total waste of my time. Fortunately, a family friend, a former professor at my university suggested I contact his physician. Haleluya—the physician was on the list of the insurance carrier I wanted to subscribe. His office staff was decent enough to register me over the phone and secure an appointment for me. Having done that, I contacted the X-company insurance agent to enroll and was accepted by the insurance company to proceed with enrollment.
As my appointment with the new primary care physician is a bit far in the future, I have asked his staff: suppose that I get ill between now and then; what do they suggest I should do? Well, you would have to go to the hospital’s emergency room to be seen by the ER physician on call.
That is what I mean about ACCESS. I am not or should not be viewed as a FORTUNE teller, but the access problem which is tough enough as it is will get worse, a lot worse unless the problem of access to services of a primary care physician is addressed. Many of us have heard of communities with no primary care physician in sight, of the waiting lists (some reported some 300 people on one physician’s waiting list), the long wait for an appointment, the delay in seeing the physician and so on, but until faced with it one does not appreciate the severity of the problem. There are several reasons for such shortages. Foremost, among them is the differential in pay, prestige associated with specialization and hence the decline in enrollment of medical students in internal medicine.
A recent GAO study, (February 12, 2008),: “Primary Care Professionals: Recent Supply Trends, Projections, and Valuation of Services”, provide information on supply of primary care professionals for 2 years, the base year of 1995 and the recent year, 2005. According to the study, there was 264,086 primary care physicians in 1995 compared to 208,187 in 2005, which gives 90 primary care physicians per 100,000 people in 2005. In 1995 the rate was 80, hence an annual rate of increase of 1.17. This obviously does not give a full picture. More recent data is needed as well as the regional distribution of physicians and, the number of enrollees, office visits and waiting time. Nonetheless, the growth although miniscule should mitigate the problem if it were to continue in future years. *
Hopefully, my experience is an aberration, that there are more primary care physicians out there—if so, well and good. If not, something should be done, and done soon. It is incumbent upon our law-makers to look into this problem before hospital ER are overloaded with patients who are simply there because they have no access to primary care physicians.
A more serious issue is how to get an insurance policy without being registered with a primary care physician. Maybe insurance carriers outside of my city do not have this requirement. If so, I wish to hear from them so perhaps this requirement would be eliminated. In such a case, specialists or other medical practitioners perhaps could fill the bill.
While writing this note, I thought of the British man who was poking the sand on some beach with his metal rod searching for gold. It took him a lifetime to find his gold; I hope it doesn’t take our newly insured citizens that long to get their gold.
+ To be fair, I got one reply. Unfortunately, the physician was not a general practitioner.
* In my next Blog, I shall provide more data on physician per capita, office visits and other pertinent information. Also, a video about the Health Care Reform Bill was suggested by rosa@newsy.com which can be accessed at http://www.newsy.com/videos/health_care_reform_in_2009.
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