Money

Mr. T came in Monday. He is changing his primary care doctor and he is just not going to see his endocrinologist anymore (he has very severe diabetes). He stopped one of the medications that I give him for his neuropathy and spinal stenosis. He didn't have a scheduled appointment and he wasn't having very severe pain. He just wanted to come in to work out a payment schedule with me so that he can see me. He has joined one of the medicare HMO plans. None of his current physicians are participating in that program. They won't pay much (about five dollars) for those visits. He is allowed to still see these doctors, he just has to pay for it "out of pocket". The reason he went with the HMO plan is that they pay for his diabetic supplies, and traditional medicare doesn't. He gets about $1,000 per month from his social security. He had an IRA, but that just recently ran out. His rent is $400/month and his electric is about $100/month. He has a water bill and a phone bill. He also pays car insurance. He is complaining that there isn't really much money left over for food. He was spending about $160/month on his diabetic supplies. The HMO will pay for that. He makes too much money for food stamps. He is too proud to go to the All Faiths Food Bank. He is a WWII veteran. He used to work on the side as a handy man, but I told him to stop that about one year ago, because I was afraid it was going to be too dangerous for his back. When he stopped doing that, his back got much better.
I'll probably charge him about $20 per visit. If I charge him lower, it will hurt his pride. That's about all that I can do.
There's something wrong with medicare, isn't there?