Report details medicare patient woes.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: MEDICARE STUDY

Rosyland Frazier and Mark Foster compiled data for the recently released report: "How Hard Is It for Alaska's Medicare Patients to Find Family Doctors?" The Institute for Social and Economic Research surveyed primary care doctors statewide. Medicare pays primary care doctors only about two-thirds of what private insurance pays, and many doctors have turned patients away. Medicare patients in Anchorage face an uphill battle looking for a new family doctor, although most primary care doctors still see their established patients. Only five primary care doctors in private practice in Anchorage are willing to accept new...