According to the HHS website, Medicaid is an assistance program that helps those with financial challenges find healthcare, no matter their age. For seniors, this often becomes an option especially when they run out of money to self-fund their healthcare insurance. When this happens, many seniors may think that it will be business as usual.
However, there are challenges that come with switching to Medicaid, which make it an inadequate replacement for other insurance schemes. If you are planning to switch to Medicaid, it is important to note that there are several striking differences between what you currently use (if you are using a self-funded scheme) and Medicaid. We lay out three of the major differences below. You can also find out more at bgainsurance.net.
Level of Coverage
Because the scheme is centered on assistance healthcare, it focuses more on mainstream treatments, tests, and other items. The result is many less-mainstream, experimental and exotic items get left off the list of covered items. If you are planning on making the switch, you may want to check whether the drugs and other treatments you currently use are covered.
If they are not, you may want to either keep your current coverage or go with a Medigap scheme that helps plug some of the deficits of the Medicaid program. In either case, Medicaid is not adequate for seniors leaving most to either switch back to Medicare or to foot the exemptions out of pocket.
Reimbursements
While this does not affect patients directly, it does so indirectly. As the program is state-funded, the state often pays less than market value for everything. This results in doctors and other healthcare providers having to take a financial hit whenever they treat a Medicaid patient.
This results in an overall reduction in the quality of services offered. This is a major challenge that most states acknowledge but that does not have a simple workaround. The result for patients is a less than ideal experience at medical centers as well as a lack of motivation by doctors to see Medicaid patients.
Discrimination
Lastly, there is a tendency for doctors and healthcare facilities to discriminate against Medicaid patients due to the low reimbursement they receive. As a senior thinking of switching to Medicaid, this should be of huge concern as it can affect not only your treatment at a facility but your very admission to the facility.
There have been cases of seniors with Medicaid being denied admission to nursing homes under the guise that the nursing home has already met its Medicaid quota. In short, most health facilities view Medicaid patients as charity cases and so will always limit the number they care for.
As you can see, the challenges that come with Medicaid are manifold. However, it is possible to combine Medicaid with a Medigap policy to offset the disadvantages that come with using only Medicaid. While most people who qualify for Medicaid do not have any other options, its limitations should be clear before making the switch.
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