Medicare clinics see surprising shortage of Anchorage patients

Medicare patients flooded two new clinics targeting the older population when they opened in Anchorage last year—most other primary care doctors wouldn't take the federal insurance for seniors because they say Medicare pays too little. Recently, the demand to get into the clinics has eased, and clinic officials are beginning to wonder: What happened to the rest of the Medicare patients? Are they finding doctors Outside where they go in winter? Are they seeing specialists like cardiologists and pulmonologists for all of their needs? Are they just not sick?