This may be a shocker to some of you, but it is coming from the government, not your doctor. CMS punishes doctors by offering way below market rates to see Medicare patients (Medicaid and Tricare as well). Only by jumping through (rather expensive) hoops such as purchasing an EMR and asking questions and documenting the answers is your doctor able to get enough MIPS and MACRA "quality" points to raise their reimbursement level to a ****ty Medicare rate, instead of below a ****ty Medicare rate.

AtticusMatlock said:

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Hospitals and doctor's offices have connections to resources for people who (for example) can't afford their brand name prescription that the doctor will insist on prescribing even though it's only 3% better than the generic it replaced.

Readmission to a hospital after discharge affects Medicare reimbursement. One of the major reasons they ask these questions in hospitals is to flag their chart for the social worker to help plan outside resources to make sure they are able to better take care of themselves and to keep them out of the ER.

In all seriousness though, the questions are not meant to be some sort of socialist experiment. Is more about holistic views of the patient and getting a better idea of how to best help them be healthy.

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This is the correct answer. Patients can obviously refuse to answer. If you're convinced it's a socialist plot, there's a very easy way to defeat it.

I was sitting in an Ear,Nose and Throat doctors office with my daughter and was handed a thick stack to fill out "for the new year." I obediently sat down with the other lemmings in that waiting room, answering some of the same questions on each page.

And elderly man walked in. Had to be pushing 90 if not over it. Fake-eye-lashed, half-awake receptionist handed him the same packet to complete with her nasally, wrote spiel about the forms. He took it with his non cane bearing hand, held it with strength, regarded it for a long moment, and said "no, I'm not filling it out", and unceremoniously dropped it in front of her. He turned and found the nearest chair in which to perch.

She stared dumbfounded. "But sir, you must fill it out to see the doctor."

"No, I don't, I haven't yet, and I see the doctor every visit."

She stormed off into the bowles of the clinic, only to return and sat down, defeated, staring at him as if he negated the very purpose of her.

We also sat and stared, admiring this man. He didn't play their stupid game. One young man in the corner uttered "…..cool."

I still think about that man.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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What happens if you say yes?

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They'll prescribe you an anti-depressant. That's the fix all.

Ramdiesel said:

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Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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What happens if you say yes?

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They'll prescribe you an anti-depressant. That's the fix all.

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They'll probably just refer you to a psychiatrist for futher evaluation.