Helpful Tip - Medicare Physician Search

Phone rings. I recognize the phone number, answer, and not one for lengthy conversations, I say,

“Hi, Mom. What’s going on?”

And mom, equally one to not mince words, says,

“I need to find a new gynecologist. I just got a letter from my old one saying that she no longer accepts Medicare assignments. It’s so frustrating. I guess the doctors are receiving less from the government and because of the considerable paperwork as well as the lower payments, some docs are opting out of Medicare.” She continues to grumble, “I don’t blame them. Everyone’s got to earn a living. But I’d rather be bowling, playing cards, or watching 'Everyone Loves Raymond' than figuring out what to do and where to go.”

I’m not ready for Medicare yet but I am familiar with the angst accompanying the search for a new doctor when I relocated to a new city just 4 years ago.

It would only make sense, I reasoned (even with my recurrent skepticism about government efficiency), for the U.S. government to supply an up-to-date directory of Medicare-accepting physicians. So to my surprise and dismay and delight and whatever, I discovered the Medicare Physician Search.

When I supplied my lovely 88-year old, computer-literate widowed (but currently available for friendships and dating) mother with this site, she called me brilliant, resourceful, and all kinds of good things (very ego-gratifying, I might add).

As our conversation came to a close, I moved on to a more favorable topic,
“Well, Mom, tell me again how magnificent your great-grandchildren are.”

Then we talk endlessly about how happy Jonah is, how big Asher is, how sweet-natured Nicole is, and how bright Haley is. Did I ever tell you how much I love to talk on the phone?