PUBLIC VIEWPOINT: Medicare Needs Problem-Solvers

I have a friend that is on Medicare. He recently had a medical condition requiring a specialist. He found out quickly that there are very few medical specialists in Northwest Arkansas who will take new Medicare patients. If you are on Medicare and do not have a relationship with a medical group, it is verylikely that you will not get the medical care you require. The reason these clinics will not take new Medicare patients is that the reimbursement is so low with Medicare that they cannot make a profit.

This is very understandable but also very troubling at a time when Medicare is going broke and will need some cost-cutting and improved efficiencies to make it profitable. The latest suggestion for cost-cutting is to reduce the payments to doctors and hospitals. This will obviously work since it will result in even more medical clinics refusing to take care of Medicare patients.

We need both political parties to get together and come up with a solution. The goal of our representatives cannot be to just get reelected or to retain power.

If the current office holders cannot solve the country’s problems then we need to replace them and elect someone who cares about us.

K.E. DAY

Springdale