By the Numbers
True Story:
Patient walks in this afternoon with a form to fill out so he can qualify for Medicaid. I have to certify that he is unable to work.
Me: Why can't you work?
He: Oh, there are a million reasons I can't work. For starters, I'm bipolar.
Me: Ok, that's two.
(He also has chronic back pain, diabetes with neuropathy and all kinds of other things that make him think he can't work. It remains to be seen what I do with the form.)
posted by #1 Dinosaur @ 5:13 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Ha, ha, ha! I think you need to trademark that.
I had a young patient with Down syndrome who worked THREE jobs. Even though they were low-paying, she made too much money to qualify for SSI so she couldn't get her prescriptions paid for. My nurse and I did everything we could to make sure we got samples for her for any non-generic drugs she needed.
Whenever I have someone who has some medical problems but clearly still CAN work but doesn't WANT TO work, it pisses me off because I think of this girl.
Me: Ok, that's two.
BWAHAHAHAHA. You goof. It's not a stretch to see why Janet likes you.
Another parasite.
I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis in my neck, shoulders, hips, knees and toes, plus neurophathy in both feet. I'm also an engineer and working at the same job I've held for the last 17 years.
I've no truck with parasites.
He told you he is bipolar-is he a doc? Any chance he is overweight, prefers the couch to a walk around the block, less then 45??
My advice, would sorry, I am willing to be your physician and help you with your maladies, but I am not willing to support your efforts to get paid to do nothing!
People are ignoring a bigger issue. In order to qualify for Medicaid, you have to be "unable to work". Sometimes patients must decide between working a low paying job and not having any medical insurance, or fabricating and exaggerating maladies to have access to healthcare. Not so contemptible now, is it?
mm
"he has all kinds of other things that make him think he can not work". It is Dino's job to help this patient with his illness (s), not misrepresent his health in order for him to get insurance (Medi-Caid).
Having insurance and having access to care are not the same-I live in California where we have 6.5 million people on Medi-Cal. 50% of primary care and 66% of specialists refuse to see Medi-Cal as the payments are so poor.
If half of PCP's don't take Medi-Cal, then that still leaves many that do. My point is, the "unable to work" requirement for Medicaid sometimes forces patients to fabricate illnesses just to have a chance at access to healthcare that won't eat up a week's salary or more. I find it insensitive that people would automatically infer less than benign motives when patients like this present. Not talking about this patient in particular, but cases like this.
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