I don't have the article but I read the abstract.
If a patient requests a quote we give them the price we likely will bill based on anticipated CPT codes, without guarantees that it's the final price. We also give them the phone number to the surgery center and anesthesia group for their quote. If they don't ask then we don't provide a quote.* It's worthwhile to note that we can bill any amount we want but insurance will pay whatever they want anyway. We just end up with more write-offs if we bill higher. There is a formula in which you multiply the RVU for each code by a conversion factor to get the target charge. Medicare allowable is less than private insurance allowable. We review our prices annually to see how close they are to insurance paid amounts. If there is a code for which you regularly get paid 100% then you should raise your price to maximize how much you get paid.
When the data was released earlier this year on how much Medicare paid doctors, we took a look at average paid amounts for the other docs in our area and found out we were were all in the same ballpark. There was some minor difference that could have been due Meaningful Use and e-prescribing penalties perhaps, but basically we all got paid the same per code.
Who knows what makes a patient choose the surgeon they do? It could be personal referral, doctor referral, your bedside manner, or they really liked the shoes you wore that day. If they want to choose based upon the quote then I guess that's up to them. Final decision is up to the patient.
*Edit: If they don't ask then we don't provide a quote of what dollar amount we think we will bill, but we let all surgery candidates know preoperatively what their insurance situation is. In other words, we tell them how much of their deductible they've met, and what their expected contribution will be after insurance has paid. Lately most patients have been asking approximately what they might expect to pay, which is fine with me. We're now seeing a lot of $5000 deductibles with 70%/30% contribution after the deductible has been met. Frankly, I'd rather have them know beforehand and not schedule an elective surgery than find out after surgery that they can't afford it and end up in collections.
