28 Amarillo Doctors Drop Blue Cross

Here is just one more example of how the health care reform passed a few months ago was inadequate. And the main reason for that inadequacy is because health care decisions are still left in the hands of private insurance companies. Here in Amarillo, a group of doctors have had enough of one of the major insurance carriers in the United States -- Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Amarillo Medical Specialists, a group of 23 doctors, has revealed they will no longer accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance. Two of those doctors are dropping Blue Cross/Blue Shield immediately and the other 21 will phase it out over the next few months. The move will affect about 11,000 patients who are covered, albeit inadequately, by the insurance carrier.

Speaking for the group, Dr. William Biggs said, "We've been Blue Cross providers for years, but they really have not updated their fee schedule with us for over seven years. Some of the fees that they pay have actually gone down over that period of time, and at the same time, our costs have gone up significantly. . .In fact, we've compared them to Medicare, and Blue Cross is paying less than Medicare for common-level office visits."

That's pretty bad. In an effort to destroy Medicare (and Medicaid) the Republicans have cut Medicare payments so much that more than a third of Texas doctors will no longer accept Medicare patients. Now Blue Cross/Blue Shield wants to pay doctors even less than that.

It's all about ever larger profits for the private insurance companies. They claim they must raise rates on consumers because of rising medical costs, but the extra money doesn't make it to the doctors -- it goes fatten the bank accounts of the insurance executives. And here in Amarillo, over 11,000 consumer/patients have to bear the burden of this greed.

Congress had the chance to cut out the profit from health insurance and go to a government-run single-payer insurance program, and they blew it by leaving Americans at the mercy of private insurers. That's why Americans pay significantly more for health care that is no better than the care offered cheaper in all other industrialized countries.

Hopefully, someday Americans will wise up and realize they are being ripped off by the private insurance companies. Until then they will pay more for health care and the insurance companies will continue to make record profits with that extra money.