posted
I'm not sure where to post this so if it needs changed please feel free to do so.
My LLMD use to accept Medicaid but he don't any more so if I continue to go to him then I have to pay him myself. I was told once by my pharmacy not to ever pay for a doctor or prescriptions or I could be taken off of Medicaid because it proved I was able to pay myself. Does anyone know if this is true or not and if so is there any way around it. It seems like they should know or they wouldn't have told me that. They are a major pharmacy.
kam
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 3410
posted
Been trying to get well enough to organize a non profit group to raise funds to help so many of us in the position.
Not sure what the answers are but I know they are out there.
Posts: 15927 | From Became too sick to work or do household chores in 2001. | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
I'm not sure what you mean when you said that Medicaid canceled them as a provider. And you don't want to lose Medicaid. What would you do if you needed surgery. You would have to pay if you lost it.
Have you found a dr. who takes Medicaid then Kam. I think I will be able to find one. I have spent a lot of time looking. I went to one in Wisc. who told me before I made the appt. that he took it then after I seen him they sent me a bill and said they didn't accept it so I had to pay. No way could we get away with that, say we wanted to see him and then after the appt. say we changed our mind and wasn't going to pay. The laws do need changed but I won't see it in my life time. sick
Posts: 538 | From Iowa | Registered: Apr 2006
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Some state laws prevent medical providers from billing Medicaid patients for services. I ran into the same problem here in VA when I tried to find an "out of network" doctor (because none of the doctors who take Medicaid could see me until October) and was told by numerous offices that they could not accept payment from me.
No, you cannot be taken off Medicaid for paying for medical services, but the provider can lose their Medicaid provider status for accepting payment from a Medicaid patient.
It's all very ridiculous, and obviously set up to keep the poor people from being able to see a doctor in a timely fashion.
Yes, I'm poor. I'm too poor to pay $13,000 per year for an insurance policy. I am NOT too poor, however, to scrape together $100 to go see a doctor when I'm desperately ill. The water bill can wait another month, you know what I mean? What good is water when I'm too dead to drink it?
Posts: 156 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2011
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sick - You should be able to continue to see your LLMD just so long as you pay out of pocket.
Since your LLMD is no longer a Medicaid provider, I doubt he or she will care what the state law says about billing Medicaid patients.
It's not YOU who can lose your medicaid, it's the PROVIDER who will lose their eligibility as a Medicaid provider. You have every right to pay out of pocket. Just because you are on Medicaid does not give the state the right to tell you how to spend your money.
Posts: 156 | From Virginia | Registered: May 2011
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quote:Originally posted by anonymiss: sick - You should be able to continue to see your LLMD just so long as you pay out of pocket.
Since your LLMD is no longer a Medicaid provider, I doubt he or she will care what the state law says about billing Medicaid patients.
It's not YOU who can lose your medicaid, it's the PROVIDER who will lose their eligibility as a Medicaid provider. You have every right to pay out of pocket. Just because you are on Medicaid does not give the state the right to tell you how to spend your money.
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That sounds right!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Ok here is what the Medicaid office told me. They said to have the provider call Medicaid and explain the situation to them, get it okayed for me to pay them mysetf and I won't lose my Medicaid benefits. If I don't get it approved first they said there was a very good chance I would.
Posts: 538 | From Iowa | Registered: Apr 2006
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