Now it seems many Dr's are going broke.

[Alan S]

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/0...hp_c1

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.

This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists.

PrintComment
Industry watchers say the trend is worrisome. Half of all doctors in the nation operate a private practice. So if a cash crunch forces the death of an independent practice, it robs a community of a vital health care resource.

"A lot of independent practices are starting to see serious financial issues," said Marc Lion, CEO of Lion & Company CPAs, LLC, which advises independent doctor practices about their finances.

Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. But some experts counter that doctors' lack of business acumen is also to blame.

Loans to make payroll: Dr. William Pentz, 47, a cardiologist with a Philadelphia private practice, and his partners had to tap into their personal assets to make payroll for employees last year. "And we still barely made payroll last paycheck," he said. "Many of us are also skimping on our own pay."

Pentz said recent steep 35% to 40% cuts in Medicare reimbursements for key cardiovascular services, such as stress tests and echocardiograms, have taken a substantial toll on revenue. "Our total revenue was down about 9% last year compared to 2010," he said. </td></tr></table>

Wonder how many will stay in business if they don't make money?

[ol man river]

its all part of the master plan.....you know, obamacare...


****

[Tom G.]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ol man river &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">its all part of the master plan.....you know, obamacare...


**** </td></tr></table>

Now ya did it.

[Alan S]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Tom G. &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">

Now ya did it.

</td></tr></table>

REALLY!! Everything was going good until he piped up.

[sgt93]

The BIL (ER Room Pediatrician) moved from IL to WI due to costs here etc with his private practice. I don't blame him one bit for moving

[vatreefarmer]

There's a lot of truth to this article.

[taeheel2az]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ol man river &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">its all part of the master plan.....you know, obamacare... **** </td></tr></table>

Or maybe it's the free enterprise system at work. I certainly have nothing against the docs making money. The cost of medical goods and services in the US, however, is operating at an unsustainably high level of cost (consider the many posts here about the cost of health insurance). Something's gotta give.

When it comes to health care, you and I don't price shop or dicker over what we pay relative to what we get, like we do buying boats or fishing gear. The insurance companies kinda act liike our proxies in that regard.

[KLAKE]

A quick, common sense observation would tell me that when lots of people lose their jobs, they also lose insurance.
No insurance, no pay for Dr's.


Not sure why it's surprising to anyone.

FWIW I know that Pharmacies are also down in business.

[13starsinax]

Dr. Dre is doing fine.

[JohnM]

Someone that works in the billing side of the office can give you a good figure. i want to say the government pays about 27ish dollars a visit when I go to the doctor. This is why no docs will take a patient under the Tri-Care Prime insurance where I live. By time they file all the required paperwork, pay staff, lease equipment etc... they lose money on each patient. Our rate is the same as the "medi's"

I paid cash for a civilian urgent care visit last week because the VA was full and told me to go to the ER. Blessed that when the bill comes in for the X-Rays and visit I'll be able to pay it where most would have waited for hours int he ER.

The last two visits at the VA the NP (you only see a doc if you are dying) wrote scripts only to have the PHARMACY downgrade her orders. In the government system the PHARMACY board decides what you take NOT THE DOC!

That is the reality coming to those without great insurance soon.

I'm not sure how many docs are going broke since they limit how many of the low cost insurance patients they take vs the better insurance plans or cash payments.

[Toypuller]

It can be hard for people to understand how someone that is supposed to be making so many dollars are getting slammed.

Malpractice insurance can be crippling.

Employee costs are higher than ever.

Wildly changing regulations cause huge amounts of wasted time.

Many doctors, hospitals and healthcare facilities are spending so much time, employee hours, and extra resources on trying to come into "Legal" that they can't be profitable. While many are large group organizations, most are still small business type set-ups that are unequipped to deal with the regulations.

My wife is a medical revenue consultatant and she is a Rock Star. The state of medical finances in this country is crazy.

[CaymasMan250]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ol man river &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">its all part of the master plan.....you know, obamacare...


**** </td></tr></table>

Just wait,,,,, it hasn't even got started and it will get worse before it gets any better

[High Tide]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Toypuller &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Malpractice insurance can be crippling.
</td></tr></table>

How about $100,000+ per year. Unbelieveable!

[bassmasterfitz]

that is what is going on at my work place no money to pay anyone. thats why I was laid off.........

[mattmann7]

When I took classes in 03 on a whim to try to become a medical billing specialist one of the teachers said the doctor she worked for was selling real estate to make ends meet. Way back then the writing was on the wall that the system was about to be absorbed by the government. The defaults in the system were all being picked up already by the government. IMO you could see it was the beginning of the end. Private practice was on its way out.


If a doctor takes seniors at his practice the government has slashed the payouts tremendously. My Gf works for an eye surgeon. He does cataract surgery on mostly seniors. Hes paid about 10 percent of his fees by their insurance if they are on medicaid or whatever the coverage is. The rest is a loss. He gets about the same for restoring a nearly blind persons vision as what I get for painting 2 ceilings. But I dont have to staff a surgery center.

[jjpatton]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by taeheel2az &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
The insurance companies kinda act liike our proxies in that regard.</td></tr></table>

Trust me when i say the insurance companies act as their own proxies in all regards- especially money. They take more from patients, give less to docs, decide what medicines you take, what pharmacies you go to, what doctors you can see, what tests you can have, etc. .... all the while making the rules in medicine and making deals with pharma, etc. to make sure they get theirs

And now with the "medical home" and Accountable care they are forcing docs to spend more time on paper work (or hiring more staff ) to keep up reimbursement at the CURRENT level. Costs for everything increase, reimbursement decreases= bad business modle. Most Doctors are too busy trying to take care of people to run for office, and there is some lack of unity between specialists, primary care, PA and NP lobby groups so nothing gets done.

Medicaid and Medicare rates either drop or remain the same (with lots of time and effort) every year, other insurers often follow or shop around to get better contracts forcing patients to change docs.

Being a doc is very scary right now, and will probably get worse.

[JohnM]

Insurance is now highly regulated as well. They have their own issues with the government and how much they can keep.

The entire system is jacked.

I still say everyone that thinks more government is the answer should jump into the VA system INCLUDING Congress and lets see how it all works out.

As of Jan 1st I can no longer get prescriptions filled at Walgreens because the government does not pay them enough. How long will it be until the other pharmacies follow?

[NitroZ7]

Insurance companies rule the medical practice now. Its not a profession any longer but a business. Obamacare or not its just a matter of choosing whether a private company makes a choice about your care or the govt. makes a choice. The doctors have been cut out of the equation. Either way the profit is way more importnat than anyone's life. That is just the reality here.

[250bassFL]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by KLAKE &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">A quick, common sense observation would tell me that when lots of people lose their jobs, they also lose insurance.
No insurance, no pay for Dr's.


Not sure why it's surprising to anyone.</td></tr></table>

That's the way I'd see it as well.

[OzarkBassin]

Well, it's all in insurance thing. As much as I despise Obama, it's not due to his tenure as president....the insurance companies have been squeezing doctors for years, and no one gets in their way. My son is a chiropractor.....when I go to see him, my insurance - United Healthcare - pays him a sum of $10 no matter what procedures he does. Last time I had an outpatient surgery, the bill was $12k (yes, maybe exhorbitant) but the discount, negotiated by the insurance company with that facility, was over $11k of that $12k charge; so insurance paid like $700. I'm sorry, but our medical profession is going to be compromised, and we'll all end up with Canadian-type medical care if we continue to let the insurance companies dictate medical coverage. Just MHO of course! But factual!