Government health plans does not mean getting care, CU hospitals show

This Denver Post article illustrates a key point about government-run health plans: having coverage does not mean you get medical care:

The issue isn’t unique to University Hospital. Many physicians across Colorado and the country have stopped taking Medicaid and Medicare patients in recent years because they say they are not reimbursed enough by those government plans. Doctors’ offices typically can break even on Medicare patients and are reimbursed about 70 cents on the dollar for the costs of caring for Medicaid patients.

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Health care experts say the problem is likely to get worse as millions of uninsured Americans are added to the Medicaid program. Just because those people have insurance, some argue, it doesn’t mean they will find doctors to treat them.