American Medicine: Doctors Are Going Broke

CNNMoney reporter Parija Kavilanz reports that a lot of doctors in America are quietly going broke. It is a trend that is spreading throughout the country, affecting physicians, cardiologist and oncologists.

Half of the country’s doctors operate a private practice, so if cash runs out and the practice ceases, a key community health provider is lost.

• Insurance reimbursements are shrinking
• Regulations are changing
• Business costs are rising
• Drug costs are increasing
• Some practitioners are loaning money to the practice to make payroll
• Key cardiovascular services such as stress tests and echocardiograms, are seeing 35% to 40% Medicare reimbursement cuts (and private insurers follow Medicare rates)
• There is an impending 27.4% Medicare pay cut for doctors
• Medicare reimbursement rates are adjusted annually under Federal law in accordance with a formula tied to the health of the economy. Doctors face uncertainty each year regarding whether the cuts will be implemented. Congress has blocked these cuts 13 times over the past decade, most recently on December 23 with a two-month temporary patch.
• Medicare and drug company reimbursement payments to doctors’ practices are often late.
• Much of the cash crunch in medical practices comes from money owed to the practice by patients or by insurers.
• Some ddoctors are responding by setting up patients for multiple visits rather than checking all the complaints in one sitting – these inconvenient multiple visits are an effective way to beat the system and get paid.

Summarized from:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/05/smallbusiness/doctors_broke/index.htm