The medical malpractice case of 6 year old Claudialee Gomez-Nicanor who died after Dr. Arlene Mercado failed to diagnose her Diabetes Type 1 raises questions about the quality of care for Medicaid patients.
A pediatric endocrinologist treating a Medicaid patient earns $30 a visit while a pediatric endocrinologist treating someone with private insurance gets nearly $100 an hour. So Medicaid providers often have trouble filling their networks with enough doctors who specialize in common issues like diabetes. Patients are sometimes left to the lesser skilled or lesser known-doctors who can’t afford to turn away the business.
You can read the complete story in a very detailed article from the Village Voice.