A New Age of Doctoring

[viridian5]

Since my left and right shoulders and upper arms are still bothering me and they were especially bothering me Wednesday, I decided to finally go to the doctor. Alas, not everybody takes Medicare and Medicaid as insurance so the primary doctor I currently go to is only in his office in Queens three days a week, four hours a day. I called Wednesday

Comments

[aubergineautumn]

Doesn’t it cost more to go to the emergency room? I have been once, when I thought I was dying. It was $400 bill for ultrasound that usually costs $40. Does Medicaid work differently than regular insurance?

[viridian5]

With Medicaid as a secondary insurance to cover what Medicare doesn't, it doesn't cost anything, but annually I have to prove to them that I'm poor as hell enough to qualify. This Urgent Care place is a doctor's office, not an ER in a hospital--Queens doesn't have many hospitals left--but either way Medicaid should cover anything aside from a small co-pay when I get prescription medicines from a pharmacy.

eta: There are many doctors who don't take just Medicaid. They're more likely to accept it as a secondary with Medicare paying most of the bill.

[aubergineautumn]

I’m going to have navigate the Marketplace for insurance, which I find intimidating. So I feel for you and all this paperwork

[viridian5]

I'm wishing you the best.