Amazingly, this is pretty much a no-brainer. All you have to do is drastically reform the manner in which the so-called Relative Value Units are used to determine Medicare's fee schedule amount. People don't seem to realize that even though Medicare is mostly limited to people over 65, it has a profound influence on how all health care is practiced—and reimbursed—in this country.
The problem is that procedural medicine is way over-compensated, compared to primary care, or cognitive medicine. This leads to tens of thousands of unneeded expensive procedures being performed every year. The latest scandal involves cardiac stents, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Making matters worse, it is often the most routine procedures that "earn" the most money, while primary care docs struggle to keep afloat trying to actually figure out what's wrong with you in the first place.
This week's HND piece also features some comments from the doctor who is suing AMA and the Medicare people. A modern day hero, for sure.
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