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January 1, Biden Pays Doctors to Treat Homeless on the Streets

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Amid surging homelessness numbers, the Biden administration has rolled out another initiative, this time allowing doctors to get paid for treating the homeless – wherever they find them.

Starting Oct. 1, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gave the green light for both private and public insurers to reimburse healthcare providers treating homeless patients outside traditional medical settings, KFF Health News revealed.

According to CMS spokesperson Sara Lonardo, “The Biden-Harris administration has been focused on expanding access to health care across the country.”

This comes after street doctors voiced frustrations over not being paid for their services.

This policy enables medical staff to receive compensation for treatments in any “non-permanent location on the street or found environment.” The primary beneficiaries appear to be Medicaid and Medicare-dependent populations, namely the elderly, disabled, and those with low incomes.

Valerie Arkoosh, who heads Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services, was quick to praise the move.

“It’s a game-changer,” she declared, emphasizing that healthcare can now be delivered “wherever unhoused people are.”

While California spearheaded this approach in 2021, states like Hawaii have followed suit, alongside cities such as Boston and Fort Worth.

Dave Lettrich of Bridge to the Mountains remarked on the prior hurdles: “Before, you could provide extensive primary care, and even some specialty care, under a bridge, but you couldn’t bill for it.”

To put things in perspective, an estimated 600,000 Americans are homeless today. Their life expectancy? A sobering 48 years, in comparison to the 76-year average for the rest of the population. In the face of such stark realities, the White House announced a lofty plan to decrease homelessness by 25% by 2025.

Presently, there are about 150 street medicine programs in the U.S. Brett Feldman of the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine notes that California’s numbers have seen a dramatic increase since 2022.

Feldman suggests that this kind of intervention might mitigate the homelessness issue and, in the process, save on pricier medical costs. His projection: California could witness a drop by 300,000 in emergency room visits.

Feldman left with a parting thought: “This is just the beginning, and it’s a wake-up call because so many people are left out of healthcare.”

As our loyal readers, we encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions on this issue. Let your voice be heard and join the discussion below.


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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Scotch

    October 19, 2023 at 2:12 pm

    This is a great way to prevent an epidemic to the rest of the population while a continued effort to deny the root of the problem: higher taxes, annual increase of property taxes, drug use, improper use of revenues, to say the least.

  2. Hooty

    October 19, 2023 at 2:19 pm

    SOCIALISM! They have now opened the door for more reason for illegals to come here. It would be much cheaper in the long run just to take over parts of south america as a colony, rule it direct from DC and keep all the people there! This move will cost billions if not trillions!! This kind of action needs to be put to the people for a vote FIRST! As us if we want to fund this kind of action. IT’S OUR MONEY!! NOT YOURS!! BIDEN did not “do” anything, this was all tied up by Dems for reelection purposes, then when Trump cancels it, he’s the bad guy, but doesn’t matter that is his last year so, lets cut the RED TAPE and start cutting the waste! This is truly a WASTE.

  3. Donald R Cook

    October 19, 2023 at 2:21 pm

    I can see another scam to Medicare.

  4. nevin

    October 19, 2023 at 2:43 pm

    another ploy to get votes for biden

  5. Jeff Wasniak

    October 19, 2023 at 3:47 pm

    Boy I can see nothing but fraud here,,homeless,,no address real of maybe fake name , no way to contact them , so some Shadey Drs. can make up names and treatments and get pd, kinda like the covid payments that went to people they couldnt/woudn’t confirm billions of dollars wasted,,oh well its only money ,,,ours!

  6. J

    October 19, 2023 at 3:57 pm

    This is socialism blazing in front of us and we’re doing nothing about it. This mitigates nothing but giving to homeless, ie, illegal immigrants who have broken the law getting here, who are not vetted and who do nothing to contribute to this country. I’m aghast with the fact that this socialism is shown right under our noses. What happens to the American citizens who can’t afford health care? It didn’t work in Canada and it will not work here. This is disgusting in all right and this admin is socialist and communism in office.

  7. Gerald Scott Ladd

    October 19, 2023 at 6:30 pm

    Biden pissing away other people’s money, to buy votes.

  8. Rat Wrangler

    October 19, 2023 at 6:42 pm

    If Mr. Biden plans to use his own millions to pay for these doctors, fine, but if he plans to use my tax dollars to do so, then we have a problem. Spending money that is not theirs has been a real problem with our elected officials for over half a century, and we cannot correct it until there are some penalties in place for spending money the government doesn’t have. Maybe all of Congress and the President should be paid no more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which they say we can live on, until we have no national debt.

  9. Carol VZ

    October 19, 2023 at 6:49 pm

    OMG! Doctors treating sick people! Will in never stop???!!!!

  10. Glenda Hargrove

    October 19, 2023 at 7:38 pm

    Biden pays Doctors for homeless, WHAT A BUNCH OF BULL, Biden did not pay anything -WHAT A JOKE – VOTE GETTER FROM HOMELESS -CHECK ROSTER

    WE TAXPAYERS DID, NOT BY POPULAR VOTE.

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