Can a Psychiatrist legally terminate or refuse to treat a patient covered by Medicare?

Question by Free Bird: Can a Psychiatrist legally terminate or refuse to treat a patient covered by Medicare?
An elderly acquaintance has a wife who is a life long mental patient with severe alcohol and drug dependency problems. She’s been under Psychiatric care continuously since 1960 and been recently diagnosed as Bipolar, but several doctors has repeatedly said, “She is crazy”!

This woman has had multiple accidental drug accidental overdoses simply because she has no fear of any drug. Her most recent Psychiatrist has refused to return her phone calls after treating her for about a year. In fact, most doctors have refused to take her on as a patient due to drug addictions and I assume that she is a liability to them.

Her husband is considering a law suite, saying that a MD cannot refuse to treat his wife since she is a Medicare patient. I say that a doctor can refuse to treat anyone that he/she chooses. This woman will not follow drug directions and takes too many of any drug that is prescribed to her and when her supply runs out will steal her husband’s meds, who is also an addict.
It seems to me that physicians are all too quick to prescribe narcotics and tranqs to elderly patients.

Granted, the elderly have various painfull illnesses and do suffer from pain, but why are physicians dispensing drugs to them like they are candy?

The gentleman is on three different painkillers, one being 40mg. Oxycontin. He is also on Effexor and Xanax.

Both he and his wife are continuesly in a drug induced, altered state of mind and their next pill is all that they can think of!

Best answer:

Answer by tamah
yes they can refuse

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