Medicare-No Longer Accepted

We're used to Medicaid patients being turned away.  The Medicaid program pays out at a lower fee schedule than Medicare and private insurance companies.  Doctors tell us that it's not manageable for them to take on Medicaid patients, they just can't afford to.

Now a new problem has arisen.  Increasingly, Medicare patients are being turned away.  I came across this article in the New York Times just a few days ago about how more and more doctors are opting out of Medicare.  In particular, specialists (i.e. psychologists, gastroenterologists, etc...) have been turning Medicare patients away.  

The doctors' reasons: reimbursement rates are too low and paperwork too much of a hassle...Doctors who have opted out of Medicare can charge whatever they want, but they cannot bill Medicare for reimbursement, nor may their patients.

The article also highlights that there is a national shortage of internists (primary care doctors who deals with adults) and among practicing internists, many are unwilling to accept Medicare patients.  

Is this the beginning of the end for Medicare?  Will the government be forced to address health care reform now that one of the most important constituencies in this debate (those represented by AARP) is facing hardships?  I have long believed that a breakdown in Medicare would be the catalyst for major health care reform.  I think we have finally reached the point where funneling more money into Medicare is no longer an option, rising health care and drug costs must be curbed by a system wide reform.  First, however, we need to get a Health and Human Services Secretary in office.