Reimbursement issues remain one of the top challenges for physicians across specialties.
Here's why three physicians are concerned:
Note: These responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Marsha Haley, MD. Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh: Declining reimbursement is a huge issue that leads to many other problems. Physicians do not receive an inflationary reimbursement update — in fact, Medicare physician pay has declined over 20% over the past 10 years. With inflation resulting in rising overhead costs, it becomes more difficult for private practices to remain viable. These practices are then vulnerable to purchase by large, vertically integrated health systems. Physicians and their patients may then become victims of the corporate practice of medicine, which results in increased physician burnout and a decline in the quality of care.
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Benjamin Levy III, MD. Gastroenterologist at University of Chicago Medicine: [Decreased reimbursements] are concerning because GI practices and endoscopy centers and hospitals require so many staff to take care of our patients. There's a cost to have nurses, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists or CRNAs and people that process insurance. So anytime we talk about decreased reimbursements, that puts a squeeze on the amount of money that's coming in to pay for all this required staff in order to do our job the best possible way that we can.
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Taif Mukhdomi, MD. Interventional Pain Physician at Pain Zero (Columbus, Ohio): Unfortunately, physicians are losing money in multiple scenarios in medicine. The most prominent loss of physician revenue is Medicare's consistent decreasing of physician reimbursement in office settings while supporting hospital-setting healthcare services. This trend affects all insurances, as Medicare is the benchmark of most if not all healthcare insurance reimbursement.
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