Even good health insurance doesn't ensure access to doctors

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(CBS) Just because you have health insurance doesn't mean you can get a doctor. That's the apparent take-away message of a shocking new study showing that even in Massachusetts - a model for the federal health legislation that President Obama signed into law in 2010  - access to medical care is severely limited.

And that's true even in emergencies - and even for people who have top-drawer insurance coverage.

For the study, Harvard researchers posed as patients insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest insurer. They called every mental health facility within a 10-mile radius of downtown Boston, saying they had been diagnosed with depression and needed to see a psychiatrist within two weeks.

What happened? Only eight of the 64 facilities (12.5 percent) listed as preferred providers offered an appointment, and only four (6.2 percent) offered an appointment within two weeks.

Perhaps most shocking - given the urgency of the requests for appointments - one in four calls to providers were never returned.

Study author Dr. J. Wesley Boyd, an attending psychiatrist at the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance, blamed health insurers for having highly restrictive provider networks and low reimbursement rates for psychiatric care. They've "created a situation where a patient with a potentially life-threatening disorder, such as the severe depression portrayed in our callers' scenario, is essentially abandoned at a time of great need," he said in a written statement.

In the continuing debate over health care insurance, "we tend to fixate on getting people insurance," study author Dr. Rachel Nardin, chief of neurology at the alliance, told CBS News. "But the real question is, "What happens if I get sick? Can I get the care I need?"

What's your experience? Have you had trouble getting medical care?

[suncat13]

The entire medical care/medical insurance system has been broken for a long time. It's time to end this madness so doctors can spend more time practicing medicine and less time dancing to the medical insurance companies' tunes. A friend of my who is a physician (internal medicine) gave up accepting insurance 15 years ago. He was able to drop his rates by almost 50% and is happier now than he has been in years. His practice became so popular that he added two more full-time physicians and a nurse practitioner. He also runs a reduce price clinic along with payment plans for patients who cannot pay their full bill in one lump sum. This just goes to show that you can have a successful practice and not rely on medical insurance.

[janaburkett]

You may look at the premium amount and think that there is no way that you can afford it. You cannot afford to be without health insurance! shop around you may find it easy to find an affordable premium, I always find health insurance through "************" network.