Traditional Small, Single-Physician Medical Practices Increasingly Likely To Disappear

Many people love the personal, long-term relationships that they enjoy at a small-scale doctor’s office. Seniors enjoying home care near Scripps Ranch and elsewhere get an important sense of security from visiting their doctor at a small, intimate office that doesn’t have the bustling, stressful atmosphere of a hospital or other large facility.

Small Practices in Trouble

With Medicare enrollment growing quickly and reimbursement amounts for doctors at painfully low levels, experts are warning that many physicians will no longer be able to accept Medicare patients. Recent studies support that warning, and indicate that the situation for many small practices is even worse than we thought. Not only are many doctors planning to stop taking new Medicare patients, but 26 percent of small practice owners report that they might close down altogether within the next year.

Financial Hardship

Those working in home care near Scripps Ranch are well aware that the economic downturn has seriously hurt the health care industry. Upcoming changes to the nation’s health care law would make matters even worse, expanding Medicare eligibility and sending more low-reimbursement patients to doctors. Over half of the small practices surveyed reported that three-quarters of their income was already from Medicare reimbursements, meaning that any new patients will have a hard time finding openings with small practice doctors.

Home Care near Scripps Ranch: Larger Practices May Be the Future

Seniors using home care near Scripps Ranch might soon find themselves forced to switch to large-scale practices and hospitals, rather than the small practices they are used to. With over a quarter of small practices predicting the possibility of closing sometime in the coming year, consider yourself fortunate if your elderly loved one’s doctor is one of those that is able to stay in operation.