Can I be denied medical care if I am on Medi-Cal and I am a veteran?I have been receiving medical treatment from a Catholic medical facility that runs a clinic for low income people. St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco has been my main medical provider for more than a decade and I go this clinic for my primary care, vision, pain, etc., etc.
After I reported errors made by my optometrist in the prescription I received from her I received a call from the director of the clinic informing me that I was no longer allowed to receive anymore services from this clinic due to the fact that I am a military veteran.
All the doctors at the clinic know that I am a veteran and have never refused care. I have Medi-Cal insurance which is accepted at this particular clinic.
I believe the clinic is avoiding liability by trying to force me to go to the VA for medical treatment.
If anyone has information they could share that would help me understand if what they are doing to me is legal or not I would appreciate it. Any suggestions or input as to how to handle this situation would be helpful.
Note: the VA is very far from my house and it is very difficult and stressful to go there. Also, they do not have all of the services I require.
Posted by June
no
Posted by Curious
The clinic is within their rights to deny you care.
The only time a facility if required to provide you care is if it's an emergency situation and it's an emergency facility.
Sorry, you will have to make arrangements to get to the VA facility.
Posted by Jer.L
Sure as long as it is not life threatening, they can refuse to accept you as a patient. The VA will bill ANY private insurance company for your care that they provide. Most all VA Healthcare centers have a travel desk that can get you to and from the hospital. And one more thing to consider, if you require treatment that they do not offer they will send you out to another facility that does. Like where I live the VA sends pregnant women to another hospital because they have no OB/GYN staff.
If you are disabled then you can get travel pay for going to the hospital, and you have no co-pays.
Posted by mbrcatz
The only time a medical provider is REQUIRED to give you care, is if you are in active labor, or have an immediately life threatening condition. And then, they don't have to accept your insurance - they can bill you for it later.
It's not up to the doctors to handle the billing and insurance issues.
That clinic cannot be paid, by the VA office. Medi-Cal pays abysmally low rates. And frrankly, if their charity is for the uninsured, and you HAVE insurance, but just prefer to use them, you're taking the charity away from someone else who REALLY needs it, and DOESNT have coverage through the VA. What you're doing, in other words, is immoral, but you're justifying it based on convenience.
They are not slaves. They are not required to treat you. I'd suggest you handle this, by making treatment arrangements at the VA clinic.
Posted by StephenWeinstein
Like anyone else, you can be denied non-emergency treatment for any reason not specifically prohibited by law. For example, they could deny non-emergency treatment to anyone whose name has an even number of letters, and treat only patients whose names have odd numbers of letters. Being a veteran or on Medi-Cal does not protect you from this type of denial.
They are not denying you care because you are a veteran. They are denying you care because you have health insurance from the VA and, except for Medi-Cal, no other health insurance, and either cannot or will not pay for the care yourself. They provide free care only to patients who do not have any insurance at all. Medi-Cal does not pay for non-emergency treatment of patients who could get free treatment at the VA. Again, this has nothing to do with being a veteran. It is only a result of being covered by VA health insurance.
The best option may be to tell the VA to cancel your VA coverage, so that you have only Medi-Cal. First, make sure that you can cancel your VA coverage without jeopardizing your Medi-Cal coverage.
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