Comments on: Surgery with a 90-day warranty http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/05/surgery-with-90-day-warranty.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:50:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/05/surgery-with-90-day-warranty.html/comment-page-1#comment-75174 Anonymous Thu, 17 May 2007 14:59:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/05/surgery-with-a-90-day-warranty.html#comment-75174 What they also don't tell you is that in substantial number of cases, the insurer is Geisinger itself. In other words, they've always eaten the bill on unexpected outcomes,complications, re-do's etc in a large number of their patients anyway. thier staff doc's are salaried,so it doesn't matter (from a monetary prespective)if the patient needs aditional work in the global period. Work is work is work,and it doesn't affect the doc's bottom line.<br/><br/>I suspect what they're really trying to do is set this as a precedent so that the (non-Geisinger staff)doctors who accept their insurance product, and occasionally find themselves having to re-operate on, or re-admit a patient will then have to eat their bills for service. What they also don’t tell you is that in substantial number of cases, the insurer is Geisinger itself. In other words, they’ve always eaten the bill on unexpected outcomes,complications, re-do’s etc in a large number of their patients anyway. thier staff doc’s are salaried,so it doesn’t matter (from a monetary prespective)if the patient needs aditional work in the global period. Work is work is work,and it doesn’t affect the doc’s bottom line.

I suspect what they’re really trying to do is set this as a precedent so that the (non-Geisinger staff)doctors who accept their insurance product, and occasionally find themselves having to re-operate on, or re-admit a patient will then have to eat their bills for service.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/05/surgery-with-90-day-warranty.html/comment-page-1#comment-75165 Anonymous Thu, 17 May 2007 13:08:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/05/surgery-with-a-90-day-warranty.html#comment-75165 90 days of postoperative care is generally included in the global surgical fee for most major procedures, especially under Medicare. They are advertising as a "warranty" what has almost always been required. The only exceptions are unanticipated second procedures and staged operations that must be done within the 90-day global period of the initial operation.<br/><br/>I think this is a silly and pointless gimmick. People don't choose hospitals based on a 90-day warranty. They choose based on where their doctor happens to work or where their insurance coverage dictates where they must go. 90 days of postoperative care is generally included in the global surgical fee for most major procedures, especially under Medicare. They are advertising as a “warranty” what has almost always been required. The only exceptions are unanticipated second procedures and staged operations that must be done within the 90-day global period of the initial operation.

I think this is a silly and pointless gimmick. People don’t choose hospitals based on a 90-day warranty. They choose based on where their doctor happens to work or where their insurance coverage dictates where they must go.

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