Prior authorizations for Medicare?

What a stupid idea.

As I said last week, physicians generally take the path of least resistance. Rather than dealing with this bureaucratic hassle when needing a desired scan, doctors will send the patient to the emergency room, where prior authorization isn’t needed before imaging studies.

This will paradoxically increase health care costs and worsen ED overcrowding.

More unintended consequences from Medicare. The same geniuses who, by suggesting physician fees be cut, actually accelerate health care spending by incentivizing the volume of medical services.

Related posts:

1. Medicare and cutting health care costs
2. Medicare now requires physician essays for hospice care, as if pre-authorizations weren’t bad enough
3. Suing to be paid for prior authorizations
4. Medicare error P4P
5. Never events
6. Using the no-pay list to control costs
7. Pre-authorizations

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Tagged as: emergency, Medicare, patient