Medicaid hurts the poor, the physicians, and the taxpayers

Like a growing number of physicians, Dr. Alieta Eck and her husband John Eck, MD do not see Medicaid patients in their practice because the red-tape hassles combined with the low reimbursement would – before too long – put them out of business.  The two Doctors Eck have found a better, voluntary and non-government funded, way to fulfill the promise they made in the Oath of Hippocrates to treat the poor without consideration of payment;  They see them for free in a standalone charity clinic completely outside of Medicaid’s bureaucratic stranglehold.  In this podcast Dr. Alieta Eck talks with Michael Ostrolenk about the Zaraphath Health Center (her charity clinic) and about the critical need for more doctors to follow a similar path.  Medicaid comprises a full third of the budget of her state, New Jersey, and is replete with wasteful spending by government clinics where each patient visit costs taxpayers around $200.  Dr. Eck has developed an innovative plan to cut costs, improve care – and, by the way, fix the malpractice crisis – benefiting the poor, the physicians, and the taxpayers.