Seniors squeezed as doctors shun Medicare

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/27/news/economy/healthcare_medicare_doctors/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Medicare has become a scary word to the
doctors at the largest private group practice in Kansas City, Mo.

It's
so scary that most physicians at Kansas City Internal Medicine, with
65% of its nearly 70,000 active patients age 65 or older, have stopped
accepting walk-in Medicare enrollees, said Dr. David Wilt, an internist
at the group.

Wilt and his colleagues say they are shunning the
area's growing senior population because they believe Medicare doesn't
reimburse physicians enough to cover the cost of care.

"And if Medicare further cuts its reimbursement rates, then we'll be functioning at a loss," said Wilt.

Wilt