Public unawareness of physician reimbursement

• Published in: Catheterization and cardiovascular interventions Vol. 91; no. 6; pp. 1062 - 1067
• Main Authors: Herrick, Nicole Lilly, Fontanesi, John, Rush, Toni, Schatz, Richard A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Awareness; Coronary Artery Disease; Female; Health Care Costs; health care finance; Hospital Costs; hospital reimbursement; Humans; Male; Medicare; Medicare - economics; Middle Aged; Perception; physician reimbursement; Physicians - economics; Preliminary Data; Public Opinion; Reimbursement; Reimbursement Mechanisms - economics; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; Young Adult; United States; physician reimbursement; health care finance; hospital reimbursement
• ISSN: 1522-1946; 1522-726X; 1522-726X
• DOI: 10.1002/ccd.27363

Objectives To assess subjects' perception of healthcare costs and physician reimbursement. Background The lack of transparency in healthcare reimbursement leaves patients and physicians unaware of the distribution of health care dollars. Methods Anonymous survey‐based study by means of convenience sampling. Participants were asked to estimate the total hospital cost and physician fee for one of the six medical procedures (n = 250). Results On the average for all 6 procedures, patients estimated the total cost was $36,177, ∼1,540% more than the actual Medicare rate of $7,333. Similarly, patients estimated the physician fee was $7,694, 1,474% more the actual Medicare rate of $589. Conclusion Patients' perception of the total cost and physician fee are significantly higher than Medicare rates for all 6 procedures. This lack of insight may have widespread negative implications on the patient–physician relationship, on political trends to reduce physician reimbursement, and on a physician's desire to continue practicing medicine.