What does Medicare NOT have?
Cherry-picking, lemon drops, rescissions and lasering" all techniques that the private industry uses to deny care to patients that have gotten overly sick (see descriptions HERE ). These are what the private industry takes care not to call "pulling the plug on Granny," but it is exactly that.
Remember the 17-year-old California girl who was denied a transplant and died as a result? That was CIGNA, not Medicare.
With Medicare if you get sick, you get care and the caregiver gets paid. Simple as that.
Is Medicare socialized medicine?
No, but what if it were? One of the best medical systems in the U.S. is "socialized," which is doctors salaried by the government and working in government hospitals. We call that the V.A. Hospitals, Bethesda Naval Center and other armed forces centers. The best in the world.
But Medicare is 95% private" private doctors putting their patients in private hospitals, but billing the state's private Medicare contractor (in Wisconsin that's WPS in Madison).
What if Medicare doesn't cover the procedure I want?
Then pay for it the old-fashioned way, with cash dollars. Medicare does not cover cosmetic surgeries, and we'd be pretty upset if it did. But you can buy any supplemental insurance that you want, and even totally bypass Medicare and buy your own policy. Go for it!
Does Medicare use gatekeepers?
Not as much as private insurers do, and certainly not as much as they should. But that is being tightened up. Gatekeepers are usually nurses trained to detect over-utilization caused by over-zealous patients or physicians. They should never overrule treatment but flag potential abuses.
The U.S. could extend Medicare to 100% of our citizens and save taxpayers $400 billion in the process. Or we could spend that $400 billion and extend the benefits to include dental care, mental parity and other services.
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