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Should insurance cover medical travel? [1]

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Date: 2023-03-07

It is very depressing to read about people being unable to access appropriate medical care where they live. We have probably all read about the dearth of medical facilities in most rural areas, especially in red states. Now we have a further wrinkle in that medically appropriate abortion has become illegal in some states. I frankly find it frustrating that medical professionals have not realized that individual action is not only no longer sufficient to provide good medical care, but may even help perpetuate poor medical and health outcomes.

Doctors need to organize, and they need to get creative. If you are a doctor serving patients from out of your area due to lack of proper care in the patient’s area then you should be able to bill the insurance company for the necessary travel. It has become part of the medical care. If you are a doctor who is unable to provide appropriate care because of a lack of facilities, or because the procedure is illegal (abortion) then you need to be prepared to write a referral for the patient indicating the necessity of travel as part of the treatment.

Doctors need to organize to put pressure on the insurance companies. Doctors, and insurance companies, need to put pressure on the legislatures to get them out of medical practice. Recently, nurses near where I live picketed the hospital for living wages. Doctors need to consider public protest. They need to picket. They need to consider a work shut-down for all non-emergency care. Failure to really dial the pressure up perpetuates a situation which violates the Hippocratic oath.

Doctors need to organize, and act.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/7/2156852/-Should-insurance-cover-medical-travel

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