No medicare, no cash

[micky]

I have some back pain and it's not clear yet whether it's serious, but because I like googling, I looked up back pain and came across Virginia Spine Institute, which I think is typical wrt this post.

It gets 4.6 on 178 google reviews but one review said that they wouldn't take Medicare and they wouldn't let her pay cash either. !!!!

Almost all the reviews had replies by VSI but not this one, so I called. At the moment, there is one doctor there that is accepting new patients and takes Medicare. But assuming that wasn't true, the review would be accurate, they wouldn't accept Medicare and they wouldn't accept cash, becuase of the contract they have with medicare which prevents their accepting cash@!!!!

1) What is the point of banning cash payments to doctors who take Medicare. If they charged more than Medicare paid for the same procedures, that would give them extra money that could if they were so inclunmed help them work for less with other patients. If they charged the same for cash, I can't figure out what effect that would have, positive or negative.

2) Why is every doctor in the practice affected by this rule? So much of the time, even doctors in the same practice seem to have their own rules, how is it that every doctor in this practice is banned from taking cash because some doctor in it would take Medicare, especially since at some times, NO doctor is taking Medicare.

I didn't ask but I assume they take insurance, since that's all there is, insurance, cash, Medicare, and wampum.

IIUC my supplemental insurance, AARP UHC, is like all the supplemental plans and it pays what Medicare doesn't pay, which is usually 20%, but does that mean if Medicare pays nothing, the supplemental insurance pays

100%? I don't think so. This means that even though I have the cash and I'm willing to pay, I can't be treated by all but one of the doctors at VSI, and none of the top 4, because there is no way to pay them.

This all seems counter-productive. Plus spine problems are most common in old people, the very people who have Medicare, unlike obstetrics, pedicatrics, infectious diseases, dermatology,

[retired1]

A little more googling should have found this other spine place, VSS, whose website specifically says they take Medicare

as opposed to VSI

 is very evasive re its insurance plans.

[Dan Espen]

Do you want drugs? If that's not what you are looking for, try getting more active. My back used to hurt, then I built a patio. After moving 35,000 pounds of rock and sand I permanently got rid of the back pain. It's now 23 years later, still no pain, but I go to the gym 3 times a week.

[Ed Pawlowski]

So, Micky just has to find someone that needs a patio built. Weather is getting warmer so he can start in a couple of weeks.

[invalid unparseable]

Friend had back pain. Family doctor, chiropractor and therapy could not help. Turns out she has stage 4 cervical cancer that had caused spinal tumor. We are praying for her.

[Dan Espen]

Yeah.

No.

Micky just has to get more active. I don't know what he's currently doing, but I do know, if you neglect your body, you'll eventually suffer.

Also, there is not much pain doctors can do for pain.