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Doctors Urged to Get Out of Medicare

Tue, 09/05/2000 - 11:00pm — Karen Stevenson
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The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has issued a call to its members to opt out of the Medicare program, calling the Medicare program "regulatory Russian roulette."

An AAPS survey of doctors revealed that doctors are afraid to treat tricky cases or take on new patients, and they are spending less time practicing medicine and more complying with more than 110,000 pages of incomprehensible government regulations. The association cites "fraud and abuse" investigations like the one where Medicare sent letters to a doctor's patients sternly warning them that their doctor had broken the law, The case was eventually overturned, but only after the doctor's reputation had been ruined. In another case that was eventually thrown out, Federal officers raided a doctor's office and held his 9-year-old son, staff, and patients at gunpoint while they seized files.

The HHS Inspector General admits that most doctors are honest, but AAPS says that to some prosecutors there is no thing as a honest mistake. "Intent to defraud no longer matters. This Administration has chosen to cast a web so wide that honest doctors are ensnared. The results are ruined lives, both professionally and financially," said Dr. Jane M. Orient, AAPS Executive Director.

Medicare also makes it impossible for doctors to provide free medical care under threat of criminal prosecution. In 1995, AAPS marked the first "Medicare Patient Freedom Day" by treating patients for $1 cash, while refusing to file claims for reimbursement from taxpayers. The government responded by saying it was illegal not to file a claim for payment.

"Medicare is socialized medicine at its worst," concluded Dr. Orient. "It?s time for doctors to stand up for their patients and send government out the door."

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has issued a call to its members to opt out of the Medicare program, calling the Medicare program "regulatory Russian roulette."

An AAPS survey of doctors revealed that doctors are afraid to treat tricky cases or take on new patients, and they are spending less time practicing medicine and more complying with more than 110,000 pages of incomprehensible government regulations. The association cites "fraud and abuse" investigations like the one where Medicare sent letters to a doctor's patients sternly warning them that their doctor had broken the law, The case was eventually overturned, but only after the doctor's reputation had been ruined. In another case that was eventually thrown out, Federal officers raided a doctor's office and held his 9-year-old son, staff, and patients at gunpoint while they seized files.

The HHS Inspector General admits that most doctors are honest, but AAPS says that to some prosecutors there is no thing as a honest mistake. "Intent to defraud no longer matters. This Administration has chosen to cast a web so wide that honest doctors are ensnared. The results are ruined lives, both professionally and financially," said Dr. Jane M. Orient, AAPS Executive Director.

Medicare also makes it impossible for doctors to provide free medical care under threat of criminal prosecution. In 1995, AAPS marked the first "Medicare Patient Freedom Day" by treating patients for $1 cash, while refusing to file claims for reimbursement from taxpayers. The government responded by saying it was illegal not to file a claim for payment.

"Medicare is socialized medicine at its worst," concluded Dr. Orient. "It?s time for doctors to stand up for their patients and send government out the door."