It is imperative that any semblance of reform include balance billing: “Allowing balance billing would make it far less likely any physicians would turn down Medicare and it would greatly decrease the pressure on the government to keep reimbursement levels up.”
Related posts:
- Note to politicians: Balance billing is essential
- Support balance billing; How doctors lose money; Finding rural doctors; Online medicine thriving
- California’s balance billing ban, are hospitals about to give patients refunds?
- My take: Medicare, balance billing, me, op-eds
- Banning balace billing is tantamount to single-payer
- Balance in the reform debate
- Balance billing
KevinMD.com on Facebook
{ 1 comment }
Having started my practice before the ban on balance billing, I agree with him 100%. I would ad that it removes the resentment factor from extending forced charity to wealthy Medicare enrollees. It actually would make it much more likely that docs who routinely balance bill would accept just the Medicare fee for the poor elderly. The current price fixing model has driven charity out of the system as the relationship isn’t a free one between doc and patient anyway.
The only downside is that the politicians wouldn’t get to continue to take full credit for the “gift” of free medical on the backs of docs under conditions of involuntary servitude.
Comments on this entry are closed.