Kitra101 said:
I am looking for data about the cost of surgery - if possible an ACL reconstruction. Is there a way to see the break down of where the money goes to? I am curious how much goes to the surgeon, how much to malpractice, how much to payment of rent, to pay off med loans, equipement, etc. I was talking with people and they think that doctors completetly overcharge and that it is fair that the insurance companies force doctors to sign contracted write offs. I am curious if that is true or not. Can someone please PM me about this or write back in this thread? Thanks!
This is a very complicated answer and is practice-dependent. Example:
Surgeon fee: Depends on the case. Partial menisectomy < ACL reconstruction << 5 level spine fusion.
Malpractice: Depends on the state, prior losses, nature of practice, subspecialty. Sports < Peds << Spine
Rent: Depends on the location, facility, agreement with the medical center, office building etc.
Medical loans: Depends on loans, program, incentives, benefits vs. salary, etc.
Equipment: Depends on the equipment. An arthroscope costs a lot more than a simple surgical tray. Often the device manufacturers will bill separately for hardware.
Dont forget ancillary staff, radiology, office nurses, billing, collections, reception and housekeeping. They have to be paid too
As far as overcharging, we charge a fee and the insurance company/Medicare/Medicaid pay whatever they want anyway so that's really a meaningless number.
The particulars of billing are very, very complicated and most practices hire 1 or 2 full time (often MBA) business managers to oversee all of this.
