By Michelle Langowski
NewsChannel 10,Amarillo, TX
As the health care debate continues across America, the panhandle is seeing a growing problem.Fewer and fewer doctors in our area are accepting patients with medicare, forcing senior citizens to possibly go without.
And this is forcing many seniors to go door to door to find a physician.
The High Plains Clinic sees an average of 15 patients a day with medicare insurance...and for many, it is a sigh of relief to come across a doctor who accepts this form of health insurance.
"I see a lot of fear in some of those patients eyes, they know they have health problems and yet it is so frustrating to not find a physician and that's got to be terrifying at 65 70 and 80 years old, knowing that you have things you need taken care of medically and you can't find help," said High Plains physician Dr. John Turner.
He says he is one of the only clinics in our area treating our geriatric population.
Many physicians shy away from medicare because of the lack of money attached.
Medicare recipient Patricia Sue Cunningham Hand has had medicare for years and says, "I look at some other people sometimes and wonder if they're taken care of. It hits me right here, that there are some people who don't get taken care of." The Amarillo Senior Citizens Association says they fear if elderly patients continue to struggle with finding a doctor that will treat them, many will forgo going to the doctor all together.
"The issue is that medicare has not been run properly in the best fashion. So doctors are being very cautious getting into that medicare loop and then not being able to get the return on the patients they're seeing."
For more information contact Senior Solutions at (954) 456-8984 or toll free at 1-800-213-3524
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