UCI and HMOs

It was almost like pain. I was very hurt. I felt that I had been abandoned after a long struggle.

Those emotions swirled as I read The Times recently and learned the UCI Medical Center physicians group was terminating its Medicare HMO contracts.

I know there are complaints about HMOs. I think they must be about the way some of them operate. I have always liked the basic concept--a health care system that keeps you well instead of a system that treats you when you are sick.

I wonder what’s happening at UC Irvine. The newspaper reported that UC Irvine isn’t getting enough money. And, why is that? Is it because their system isn’t as efficient as it could be?

Is it because Medicare payments are just too low? Has my retirement system bargained too hard and are its payments too low? Or has Secure Horizons been too stingy in its payments? I don’t know, but I do know that it’s unpleasant here at the bottom of the pile.

I feel that the University of California is letting me down. I have supported education in California, including higher education, for more than 50 years. My support has not been large or notable, but it has been consistent through the payment of taxes.

While it was reported that other HMOs might be cut off, the fact is that 100% of the Medicare HMOs are slated for elimination. That’s age discrimination.

Yes, I admit that older people have more medical needs. Is that a reason to turn them away? Shouldn’t UC Irvine’s mission be to first serve the people who need it most, rather than those most convenient to serve?

Is the termination of Medicare HMOs by UC Irvine another sign that we have a two-tier health care delivery system?

UC Irvine’s action highlights a problem that needs to be solved.

WILLIAM L. STANTON

Garden Grove