I'm on Medicaid and might move. What if no GI doctor is nearby?

[Steve_in_orlando]

Since I'm on Medicaid and it is hard to find GI doctors that accept it, I'm wondering what will happen when I move. It will likely be a small town in Maine, and looking through the various doctor rating websites it seems there are slim pickings out in the boonies.

My question is: Will Medicaid simply cover whatever cost it takes for me to see a GI doctor who doesn't take Medicaid if there isn't an alternative within fifty miles or so? I thought I'd read somewhere that that is the case. I'm on SSI (disability welfare), if that matters.

I'd hate to move and find out I can't get a GI doctor. Surely they have to make accommodations so I can be treated?

Thank you.

 

[ronroush7]

I don't know the answer but I'm sure there will be someone who does.

 

[Walt]

Hey Steve,
I do not live in the US and so do not know that system.
I may offer you another "idea".

Wherever you land, you do road trips to better doctors.
I live on the edge of one city, and drive 5 hours round trip for 5 min in the little room in another.
Many sick folks drive further. It just becomes another part of life.

Ideally you want to seek medical help at a cutting-edge teaching hospital.
If you are sick with IBD, prudence demands fresh help.
Sadly there is more information than consensus. Plus misinformation too!
New research & development constantly changes the picture.
Many people find it worth it to consult good sharp help.

Once you get a road-trip-GI, you shift your focus to increasing the intervals of time between far-doctor travel.
Once your treatment is in place & rolling along, you graduate to longer between appts.

just thinking out loud.
beg, borrow & steal ideas from everywhere!
wishing you only well,
peace
w

ps
I use local medical services for all I can get accomplished,
But I hit the highway for a current-aggressive-GI.
your mileage may vary
: D

 

[Jabee]

I live right outside Boston so am very fortunate to have my pick of a large number of excellent GIs. I think Walt has a very good point; since you live in a small town you will probably want to select a doctor in a major city. Depending on where you are, I would look in Augusta, Bangor, or Portland. If you are in southern Maine you might want to consider traveling to Boston if you can. I also suffer from chronic migraines, and my neurologists have patients from RI, NH, and ME. In Vermont folks often go to NYC.

I don't know if you've been on this site but it might help:

https://mainecare.maine.gov/mhpviewer.aspx?FID=PDIR

One of the GIs listed who takes Medicaid, Dr. Andreas Stefan, in Portland, was also selected by physicians in Maine as the GI to whom they would take family members.

 

[Steve_in_orlando]

I live right outside Boston so am very fortunate to have my pick of a large number of excellent GIs. I think Walt has a very good point; since you live in a small town you will probably want to select a doctor in a major city. Depending on where you are, I would look in Augusta, Bangor, or Portland. If you are in southern Maine you might want to consider traveling to Boston if you can. I also suffer from chronic migraines, and my neurologists have patients from RI, NH, and ME. In Vermont folks often go to NYC.

I don't know if you've been on this site but it might help:

https://mainecare.maine.gov/mhpviewer.aspx?FID=PDIR

One of the GIs listed who takes Medicaid, Dr. Andreas Stefan, in Portland, was also selected by physicians in Maine as the GI to whom they would take family members.

Hm. With Medicaid they make you select from the pool of doctors in your local area, but maybe they make exceptions and let you choose one from another city or even state?

I'm so used to travel thirty minutes to visit a doctor, and I can barely handle that; driving for four hours both ways would be too much for me physically.
Am I stuck with having to live near a big, crime-infested city? :depressed: