Has anyone found a private psychiatrist that accepts Medicare?

Hi. I go through a state run clinic that is constantly losing psychiatrists to private practices. This means that once I see a doctor, they generally leave during the 3 months until my next appointment. Then I have to start the process all over again. The most troubling part of this process is that since it is a state run clinic they don't like to start patients on benzodiazepines for treatment of anxiety because a large number of patients have problems with chemical dependency (drug abuse). I don't have that problem. However, the department policy is that everyone has to start the same. So since I've already been through 3 different doctors in a 12 month period I've been stuck on Vistaril and it's not doing anything.

Does anyone have any advice? I am on Social Security Disability and I have Medicare. I can't afford to pay for a private psychiatrist out of pocket and it seems that the few I've called (from searching through Google) don't accept Medicare. I don't know what to do.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I think that's something that varies from state to state-not sure exactly though. The best thing to do is to go on google and look up medicare for your state, and see what you find. You might want to ask someone who works at your clinic.

I would see if there are other clinics, maybe one that is not state-run but takes some Medicare clients. Otherwise, I would go to my GP, explain the problem and ask if he can help.

It may feel like finding a needle in a haystack, but they ARE out there and there are some very good ones. I ran into the same problem and did a search as recommended above. Some of the websites will let you search not just by area and specialty but by insurance as well. Have patience and keep looking. You will find someone.

My Pdoc accepts Medicare ... I have never had any problems finding any kind of providers that accept Medicare .. I live in a very small town

Good luck finding one that does .. Maybe contact local hospitals to get a list of Pdocs in your area .

I really appreciate everyone's help. I had terrible sleep last night and only woke about 4 hours ago. I've been trying to put my thoughts together since then and have been doing a little writing after that. I'll start doing another search on Monday since it is after 6pm here and tomorrow is a holiday.

I really do want to thank everyone here for being encouraging, especially when I was about to give up. It means a lot to me, even if it was just from strangers on the internet. Thank you.

yes, where do you live? just call your insurance, if you have dual choice like me, there should be a few providers that accept your insurance. i usually go to a clinic for meds too, but the last like four i saw all retired one after the other, so im using my medicare to get a private one and itll hopefully be better too bc there wont be restrictions on benzos or ADD meds like at the clinic. they completely stopped my ADD meds bc "its addicting." miracle i still get my xanax.

I live in the U.S. but I'm not sure what you mean by "dual choice". I am on Social Security Disability so my insurance is Medicare. Unfortunately my disability payments that I receive each month disqualify me from being eligible for Medicaid in my state so I can't use that (which would open the door to so many other doctors/facilities). I'm just going to keep making phone calls on Monday.

Glad to hear it's working out for you! That gives me a little more hope.

Dewbot, my pdoc accepts Medicare, so there are docs out there who do. The advice given by others already sounds valid. Good luck to you!

im on ssdi too, so i thought our insurance was the same.

I have mediCARE from ssdi- but also medi-cal (equivalent of your mediCAID) from the county. and yes it does open up more doors.

i dont understand why you cant have both? i think i get 916 a month, but i still qualify for the medical. together they call my plan dual choice. can i ask what state youre in?

I'd rather not make my state public (I get a little paranoid about certain things), but suffice it to say it's a state that has not expanded it's Medicaid coverage in an effort to combat Obamacare. It is very difficult for males to obtain Medicaid in this state unless they are 100% disabled and not receiving any type of income whatsoever. If they are receiving an income and are covered under Medicare, they are ineligible for Medicaid. It's sad that our fellow citizens continue to vote in representatives who place politics over people, but it happens. I can't wait until the day comes when I'm in a position to move back out west.

InRealLife45,
Each state sets its own guidelines as to what income amount qualifies for its state's Medicaid program. Just having SSDI does not automatically qualify you for this in any state.

So for instance, some years my SSDI is below the max income amount and many more years I am between $2.00-$100 over the max amount of income allowed to qualify based on my SSDI income to qualify for it. It has to do with, in our state, budget cuts those years typically that I do not qualify and the amount of people they want/can reasonably cover, or politically who's in office their viewpoints on social programs to offer coverage.

Dewbot,
Good look on your search finding someone this week. Will be sending good vibes your way for a new MCR covered provider.

Do you have an HMO or a PPO as a primary as Medicare. I have Care improvement plus as my Medicare provider and MoHealth net as my secondary.

there are pdocs that do. i had one. only for a short period of time. then she dropped me. sucks. im back to state run clinics right now.

Private, no. Organizations that I suspect take medicare and probably have psychiatrists (or at least psychologists) are Fenway Community Health Center and Thrive Counseling.

You might want to look into a Medicare Advantage Plan. That might get you access to psychiatrists who are not part of a public clinic. Pdocs at those places tend to be just passing through. I know from personal experience.

I'm facing the decision, myself, right now, of whether to stay where I'm at, which is a public facility and I've had 3 different pdocs . . . . or get me an Advantage plan, which would hook me up with some pdocs in a group affiliated with the Advantage plan, where they stay put for years and years.

Also, like you, I was on a benzo, which I had to give up. I'm not sure how the pdocs at the Advantage Plans would feel about letting me have a sleeping pill. (I was on Restoril, and had to give that up.)

It can be real tedious trying to study all the options out there. Then you don't really know what any new doctor will do, until you have become his/her patient.

Too, there are psychiatrists that don't accept insurance, at all. Why psychiatrists don't take insurance I would try to save up to see one of those a couple times, get a relationship going and maybe work something out fee-wise that was sustainable for both of us.

Perna makes a good point. If your goal is mainly just to get the script for the benzo that helps you, you might really just need a pdoc on a consultant basis. He/she might give you a script renewable for a year, then need to see you just annually. That might be worth it to you, even if you have to pay a few hundred out of your pocket, initially.

I haven't found one. I go to Lutheran Family Services for my therapist and they have an on call. They have been really good to me and they take medicare.

I don't understand. Private practise or not, don't medical practitioners HAVE to accept medicare?

No they don't.

I hope this link works. this is how I find what my MIL needs. Medicare.gov Physician Compare Home It's from the medicare website. You type in your city or zipcode and what type of service you are looking for and they tell you if they have anyone listed.

My Dr. only accepts Medicare or private payment. He got tired of dealing with Insurance companies and left his job and opened his own practice. He has excellent experience. There are lots of Drs. out there who accept Medicare. PDOCs can only charge like $110 for treatment (that's Federal law) and Medicare pays half of that.

PDOCs have to touch base with (Private) Insurance Companies often (several times per mth) to validate their patient's treatment. That was too much for my Dr. so he no longer accepts Private Insurance.

There are Medical Universities who have outpatient programs and charge less for treatment (Univ. of Penn in Philadelphia, for instance).

I go to a university psych clinic. they take Medicaid and also help people who cant afford help/no insurance!