Article

2013-04-23 Home Front: Politix

How Government Killed the Medical Profession

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by DarthVader 2013-04-23 13:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 KiloBravo an I have been in the HealthCare computer business for almost 25 years. Before that I was a hospital IT consultant specializing in computerized billing. Having that background I read the article with great interest. Jeffrey Singer has highlighted every woe we witnessed in our interaction with our client Physicians.

We cater to solo practices and small groups. Since the passage of ObamaCare we have experienced a rapid drop in customers as they retire or join large groups like Kaiser. There just isn't any significant number of new physicians starting independent practices to replace our losses.

Just one anecdotal case of what independent physicians are facing: We have a solo practice Cardiologist who reads EKGs for a local hospital and other entities. He has charged $35 for over 15 years that he has been our customer. I was recently doing some work with the practice, cleaning up their Receivables. I noticed that when Medicare reimburses him they pay about $7.50 and Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid, pays about $1.70 if at all. He has to write off the balance.

In the meantime he has to pay for the clerk that enters the patients info into his system, bills for the charge and possibly follows up on that billing. In addition to the time he spends interpreting the EKG he must dictate and have typed up a report for the Hospital client. Of course he has rent, utilities, payroll, equipment, etc. etc. to pay for at ever increasing amounts.

My suggestion was to discontinue reading the EKGs or if he must don't bother to bill for them, especially to Medi-Cal/Medicaid.

Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2013-04-23 15:09|| 2013-04-23 15:09|| Front Page Top

#2 In the meantime he has to pay for the clerk that enters the patients info into his system, bills for the charge and possibly follows up on that billing. In addition to the time he spends interpreting the EKG he must dictate and have typed up a report for the Hospital client. Of course he has rent, utilities, payroll, equipment, etc. etc. to pay for at ever increasing amounts.
This is a Mom & Pop business approach which is simply doomed, even without Obamacare.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2013-04-23 15:16|| 2013-04-23 15:16|| Front Page Top

This is a Mom & Pop business approach...

No, it's a professional providing a service.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2013-04-23 17:01|| 2013-04-23 17:01|| Front Page Top

#4 KiloBravo grew up in England and is very familiar with where we are heading. You'll wait all day to see a GP and then if you're lucky he will schedule a EKG to take place six weeks from now with the results back six weeks after that.

The last report on England's National Health was that the Government wanted to get the wait time to see a specialist down to an average of 16 weeks. And, beware of the Liverpool Care Pathway.

Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2013-04-23 17:09|| 2013-04-23 17:09|| Front Page Top

23:42 CrazyFool
21:27 SteveS
21:03 Besoeker
20:39 BrerRabbit
20:27 JosephMendiola
20:22 Barbara
20:14 JosephMendiola
20:12 Frank G
20:08 junkiron
19:57 Besoeker
19:57 Besoeker
19:53 JosephMendiola
19:52 trailing wife
19:51 Besoeker
19:49 JosephMendiola
19:37 ed in texas
19:30 JosephMendiola
19:09 Marilyn Lover of the Hatfields1778
18:49 Barbara
18:45 Pappy
18:43 Pappy
18:42 Pappy
18:39 Pappy
18:23 George Glaigum7976