Officially opted out as of July1, 2012

Today I received my official letter from Medicare that as of July 1, 2012, I am free to private contract with my Medicare patients. My opt-out status had been in limbo since November 2011. I first had to revalidate with Medicare ( took three tries ), and then as I moved my office, I had to submit an address change before Medicare would consider my opt-out affidavit. Now that my opt-out status is officially behind me, I can work on a set of programs/plans to maintain my Medicare population at my office. I hope to prove to myself, my patients and any doc reading this blog that participating in Medicare is not necessary to be able to provide a valuable service or services to your community. I plan on offering to meet individually with each Medicare patient to explain their new options at my office. I also will be working on a mailer to these same people. If anyone has a letter they have mailed that they would like to share....... Results: This morning I had two Medicare patients private contract with me to continue their care. They chose to join my Wellness Plan, with a reduced fee for Medicare patients on a fixed income. Other patients who have heard that I would be dropping participation have also called wanting to sign on. Will post more details and stats as I move forward.