stick a fork in me, I'm done

Believe me, I hate having to ask people to fill out 10 forms and get all sorts of data from birthdate to social security number when registering patients in my practice. In particular the social security number is necessary because a) insurance companies identify patients via that number along with other data to make sure the patient is the correct one b) there are people that present fictitious data thus I must protect my business from fraud.
If a patient pays cash then we don't need ID's or anything, of course. But with third party payors, we need a lot of info to file claims and to get paid. I don't make the rules, I follow them.
Here's where it gets sticky and complicated. Patients are urged at every turn to never give out their social security number. But their Medicare is their social security number plus a letter, or if through a private payor then there's that info registered with the home plan. I need that info to get paid. In particular, if people are delinquent in payment and collections have to be retained, a social security number is needed, it's like a loan done by a financial institution. You go anywhere, get a fishing license, get a car or insurance, get labs drawn by a phlebotomist, you must give your SS#. If you don't give it, you may be refused service.

If a patient refuses to give this info then I have the right to refuse service. Period.

I also love it when retired octogenarian FBI agents threaten me for not calling them back within an hour. Yeah, because you're important. Sorry but the cynical side springs to life with these situations.  Don't pull rank. Be nice. 

Sequester=sesquestrar, to take hostage

The sequester, a last minute harikari device employed a few years by Mr. Obama to get the debt ceiling raised, will drop Medicare payments to physicians for some reason on April 1st. I can't find anything on the CMS website about this, au naturel.
The hilarious thing is the guy says the Repubs invented it. Some of us have excellent memory and refuse the obfuscation now thrown at us.

Govt will kill the goose and then what? It's an Orwellian world, we are in it. It's not coming, it's here.