Physician compensation rose only slightly last year as more of doctors' compensation was based on the quality of care they provide and whether their patients are satisfied, a new salary survey indicates. The 2013 Medical Group Management Physician Compensation and Production Survey Report showed physician pay increases were largely flat, rising about 3 percent for primary care doctors – family doctors, internists and pediatricians — to $220,942 in 2012 compared to $212,840. Meanwhile, compensation for specialists rose 3 percent to $396,233 from $384,467 in 2011. Pay ranged from $532,269 for cardiologists to $301,000 for obstetricians, according to MGMA's list of selected specialties.
Less than five months before the Affordable Care Act fully kicks in, hospitals are improving care and saving millions of dollars with one of the least touted but potentially most effective provisions of the law. While much of the focus on Obamacare has been on the government rush to open insurance exchanges by Oct. 1, 252 hospitals and physician groups across the U.S. have signed up to join the administration's accountable care program, in which they share the financial risk of keeping patients healthy. Under the program, hospitals and physician practices take responsibility for tracking and maintaining the health of elderly and disabled patients.
Medicare could have saved $910 million in 2011 by paying the lowest possible rate for certain clinical lab tests, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General released June 11. The report, Comparing Lab Test Payment Rates: Medicare Could Achieve Substantial Savings (OEI-07-11-00010), said "Medicare could have saved $910 million, or 38 percent, in 2011 if it had paid the same rate as the lowest paying insurer surveyed for each lab test in each geographic location." OIG looked at payment rates for 20 clinical lab tests in 56 geographic regions and compared Medicare's payment rates against those of Medicaid and three fee-for-service Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plans.
Until now, much of the debate swirling around Obamacare has focused on the cost of premiums in the state-based health insurance exchanges. But what will enrollees actually get for that monthly charge? States are starting to roll out details about the exchanges, providing a look at just how affordable coverage under the Affordable Care Act will be. Some potential participants may be surprised at the figures: $2,000 deductibles, $45 primary care visit co-pays, and $250 emergency room tabs. Those are just some of the charges enrollees will incur in a silver-level plan in California, which recently unveiled an overview of the benefits and charges associated with its exchange. That's on top of the $321 average monthly premium.
The number of retail health clinics that have been popping up in places like drugstores for years is expected to double by the end of 2015, according to the consulting firm Accenture. Accenture said in a report released Wednesday that a flood of newly insured patients from the national health care overhaul will help stoke demand for those clinics, which typically treat minor illnesses when a patient doesn't have a doctor or the physician isn't available. The overhaul is expected to expand health insurance coverage to nearly 30 million uninsured people. A big chunk of that growth will start next year when the state-federal Medicaid program for poor and disabled people expands in several states and the government starts offering income-based tax credits to help people buy insurance.
Did Roseland Community Hospital wind up on the brink of closing last week because of the primarily poor population it serves? Or because of mismanaging their resources? Depends on who you ask. Roseland had said it was in danger of closing on Wednesday because it owed $7 million to pay off debt that was more than 90 days delinquent. But Gov. Quinn was able to give the safety-net hospital $350,000 to keep the doors of the financially strapped facility open. Sharon Thurman, a hospital vice president, has said the money will allow the hospital to meet its June 17 payroll, giving Quinn's number crunchers time to review the hospital's budget and come up with a long-term plan.