title: Physicians may opt out, not MCOs.
abstract: Physicians and other practitioners can now contract privately with Medicare beneficiaries for services that Medicare covers and charge more than Medicare pays. Private contracting means more treatment choices for beneficiaries. It also means that practitioners can charge whatever the market will bear, but at the cost of having to withdraw from Medicare for 2 years. For private contracting to become popular, the law will have to be changed to lower the associated cost.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
mesh_terms: D003284:Contract Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D006278:Medicare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018584:Physician Self-Referral; D010820:Physicians / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017149:Private Sector / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States