Lisa Murkowski: “this past New Year rang in a harsh reality for senior citizens of America: As of January 1, 1998, senior citizens, for…”

“this past New Year rang in a harsh reality for senior citizens of America: As of January 1, 1998, senior citizens, for all practical purposes, have been stripped of a health care right afforded to any other insured American--the right to pay out-of-pocket for the doctor of their choice. I am outraged over this provision--a provision that was added into the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 in the twelfth hour of negotiations between the White House and Congress. The provision prohibits doctors who privately contract from treating Medicare patients for a period of two years. Therefore, it is now unlawful for a doctor to take a private payment from a Medicare-eligible patient if during the previous two years he has billed Medicare for any service rendered to a patient over the age of 65. What is the reality of the provision? The reality is that it will be almost impossible for a senior citizen to contract privately for medical services because few or no physicians are going to be able to make ends meet if they can't accept Medicare patients for two years. The reality is that, unlike every other insured American, senior citizens have now lost a significant right--a right of choice in who provides their health care.”