Doctors hate taking Medicaid because it is a royal pain in the @$$ to get stuff approved and/or paid for, and on top of that they get paid peanuts compared to everything else per service. So the clinics that do take it get swamped, it's impossible to get an appointment so the patients let things get bad and end up as repeat ER users. At least that has been my experience with physicians, none of the ones I have worked with accept Medicaid for those reasons. A lot don't take Medicare people anymore either. Low supply plus high demand means very few doctors to do services, but the fees are set and cannot change, so they have to do more work on less money.. a recipe for bad outcomes in the healthcare world.

As my Dr. Pointed out this week it is almodt impossible to find a spevialidt who will see a Medicare patient, but ALSO, remember that budiness sbout " you can't be turned down, no matter your pre-existing condition?"
Turns out you CAN be turned fown BY MEDICARE for the wrong pre-existing condition!! I didn't have enough time to talk with him further, but WTF, HUNH??

I get it that they've deliberately making it too tough to understand, but this is beyond rificulous Brings to mind a quote [not completely to mind , because I don't remember where it came from ] about the Btitish, realizing that they couldn't share the wealth, had settled for sharing the poverty instead.....

Snoogoo makes an excellent point in that what good is Medicaid if you can't find a doctor who accepts it? And if a doctor in private practice does accept it, there is a good chance they are the worst physicians in town.

$5Au notes also that a similar phenomenon is taking place with Obamacare as a significant number of doctors decline to participate in it.

The question should be; Is Medicaid better than Death Panels? The answer apparently is -- no, it's worse.