Mayo hospital addressing the elephant in the room.

[urge]

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Mayo to give preference to privately insured patients over Medicaid patients

• The Mayo Clinic's chief executive officer told employees that the health system would give preference to patients with private insurance over those with lower-paying Medicaid or Medicare coverage, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

 

[Consigliere]

And now I love the Mayo Clinic. Mad, mad respect.

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

Mayo to give preference to privately insured patients over Medicaid patients

Sadly inevitable. Here's my favorite quote: “If we don’t grow the commercially insured patients, we won’t have income at the end of the year to pay our staff, pay the pensions, and so on,” he said, “so we’re looking for a really mild or modest change of a couple percentage points to shift that balance.”

As long as we're keeping it real, though, let's be real. The issue isn't how are they going to pay their staff, or pensions, or what-not. The issue is making sure the leadership gets their multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses and severance packages. I guarantee you that people will get fired or lose their pensions, etc, before anybody at the top takes a few million off what they get paid.

 

[ambiturner]

You're right, executive pay in healthcare, even at nonprofits, is out of control. And shows no signs of slowing down.

With all this talk of Medicaid expansion I think people need to take a hard look at how it actually works - reimbursement at pennies on the dollar and many states that sometimes don't pay at all. Unless we want to go back to a charity system it's not going to work, especially at places that do a lot of peds.

 

[deleted126335]

Mayo to give preference to privately insured patients over Medicaid patients

He walked back his comments a few days later. He came under criticism and scrutiny for possible legal investigation. Of course all he did was speak the truth. No margin. No mission.


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[drmwvr]

Sadly inevitable. Here's my favorite quote: “If we don’t grow the commercially insured patients, we won’t have income at the end of the year to pay our staff, pay the pensions, and so on,” he said, “so we’re looking for a really mild or modest change of a couple percentage points to shift that balance.”

As long as we're keeping it real, though, let's be real. The issue isn't how are they going to pay their staff, or pensions, or what-not. The issue is making sure the leadership gets their multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses and severance packages. I guarantee you that people will get fired or lose their pensions, etc, before anybody at the top takes a few million off what they get paid.

Dangerous route to take, as the number of specialty physicians with breath taking salaries dwarfs the number of administrators with similar salaries. Both can claim being indispensable to the mission, but the dollar to dollar comparison leaves physicians looking far more expensive. Cue the midlevel provider....

Engaging in class warfare only ends up benefiting those in charge.

 

[pjl]

Interestingly, Mayo's CEO is actually pretty poorly reimbursed.
He only got like 1.3-1.7 mil for the years I found. It is good pay, but I know a lot of MDs that are way over that number.


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[Psai]

Dangerous route to take, as the number of specialty physicians with breath taking salaries dwarfs the number of administrators with similar salaries. Both can claim being indispensable to the mission, but the dollar to dollar comparison leaves physicians looking far more expensive. Cue the midlevel provider....

Engaging in class warfare only ends up benefiting those in charge.

Uh physicians run healthcare. Administrators are completely superfluous. Dollar to dollar comparison leaves physicians being infinitely more valuable. Who bills for services? If replacing all doctors with midlevels is so easy, why hasn't anyone done it?

 

[Man o War]

Uh physicians run healthcare. Administrators are completely superfluous. Dollar to dollar comparison leaves physicians being infinitely more valuable. Who bills for services? If replacing all doctors with midlevels is so easy, why hasn't anyone done it?

Because most patients want to see a doctor, not nurses.
This is why I wish the ASA would run a massive PR campaign educating the public. When I talk to patients about this, they are shocked to learn that nurses would ever be allowed to administer anesthesia without an anesthesiologist supervising them.
Patients don't know any different, which is why WE are missing the boat by not educating them.
Plus, they get charged the same or very close for the care, so why get care from someone with a fraction of the education and training? Makes no sense.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

It is good pay, but I know a lot of MDs that are way over that number.

Do you really discuss this with other doctors?

I never EVER discuss my income with anyone other than my spouse.

 

[nimbus]

Do you really discuss this with other doctors?

I never EVER discuss my income with anyone other than my spouse.

Yeah but the houses in La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, Aspen, and Maui are kind of a giveaway. So are the airplanes and Ferraris.

 

[deleted162650]

Yeah but the houses in La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, Aspen, and Maui are kind of a giveaway. So are the airplanes and Ferraris.

Which docs do you know that are pulling in that kinda dough. Our neck of the woods isn't known for crazy reimbursement rates. Just about everyone I know with property like that got in 20 years ago. Back then we made the same but 1 mil got you sand in your backyard. Now it buys you 3000sq ft on a 5000 sq ft lot.

 

[nimbus]

Which docs do you know that are pulling in that kinda dough. Our neck of the woods isn't known for crazy reimbursement rates. Just about everyone I know with property like that got in 20 years ago. Back then we made the same but 1 mil got you sand in your backyard. Now it buys you 3000sq ft on a 5000 sq ft lot.

Spine surgeons. Besides the example I Pm'd, there's another local spine surgeon who gets over $2mil/yr in royalties per Propublica.

 

[pjl]

Spine surgeons. Besides the example I Pm'd, there's another local spine surgeon who gets over $2mil/yr in royalties per Propublica.

GI, Neurosurg, Ortho (sports especially)


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[aneftp]

GI, Neurosurg, Ortho (sports especially)


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The key is owning ur own practice (and preferably ur own surgery center).

Hospital employee surgeons even ortho hospital employed do not pull that amount.

 

[Man o War]

The guys I knew who made that kind of cash were joint implant guys who got paid big money by one of the device companies and owned their own surg center.

 

[bigdan]

Six UPMC executives and physicians top $2 million in compensation

 

[Psai]

This thread is about mayo, not pitt

 

[Aether2000]

The mean and median income averages for physicians of all specialties and subspecialties are not even close to even one million. There are outliers in all specialties, but the only ways to make more than a million dollars a year as a physician are to be engaging in predatory, illegal or unethical practices, engaging in a mill practice where patients have become widgets, or engaging in exorbitant pricing schemes outside insurance.

 

[pjl]

The mean and median income averages for physicians of all specialties and subspecialties are not even close to even one million. There are outliers in all specialties, but the only ways to make more than a million dollars a year as a physician are to be engaging in predatory, illegal or unethical practices, engaging in a mill practice where patients have become widgets, or engaging in exorbitant pricing schemes outside insurance.

Imagine a place where your commercial insurance patient percentages were a little higher. You instantly make 4-10 times as much per encounter compared to a medicare/medicaid patient.
If you are at 70% medicare at <20 per unit, 30% commercial at 100 a unit, imagine what flipping those percentages does for you.

There are places with high commercial percentages, where I am sure even anesthesiologists top that number, without being predatory. They are not common, but there can be safe and legal ways to make more.
*note, I am not in one of those places, sadly.

All Mayo wanted to do is shift a few % higher towards commercial.

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[BLADEMDA]

This thread is about mayo, not pitt

By comparison among other health system executives, Mayo Clinic president and CEO John Noseworthy’s total compensation in 2014 was $2.34 million, including $1.89 million in base salary.

 

[BLADEMDA]

The mean and median income averages for physicians of all specialties and subspecialties are not even close to even one million. There are outliers in all specialties, but the only ways to make more than a million dollars a year as a physician are to be engaging in predatory, illegal or unethical practices, engaging in a mill practice where patients have become widgets, or engaging in exorbitant pricing schemes outside insurance.

Not true. I know several MDs clearing a million per year through their practice and ownership in a surgery center. They bill legally and ethically as well as disclose their ownership in their surgery center to their patients.

 

[pjl]

By comparison among other health system executives, Mayo Clinic president and CEO John Noseworthy’s total compensation in 2014 was $2.34 million, including $1.89 million in base salary.

What was Mayos total revenue that year? That guy probably deserves a lot more, in my mind.


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[chocomorsel]

Which docs do you know that are pulling in that kinda dough. Our neck of the woods isn't known for crazy reimbursement rates. Just about everyone I know with property like that got in 20 years ago. Back then we made the same but 1 mil got you sand in your backyard. Now it buys you 3000sq ft on a 5000 sq ft lot.

I love it. A big old house on a postage stamp lot!!!

 

[chocomorsel]

Which docs do you know that are pulling in that kinda dough. Our neck of the woods isn't known for crazy reimbursement rates. Just about everyone I know with property like that got in 20 years ago. Back then we made the same but 1 mil got you sand in your backyard. Now it buys you 3000sq ft on a 5000 sq ft lot.

Doctor's 2o years ago were making more. At least my old 60 year old partners say so. Haven't reimbursements gone down?

 

[drmwvr]

This thread is about health care.

Uh physicians run healthcare. Administrators are completely superfluous. Dollar to dollar comparison leaves physicians being infinitely more valuable. Who bills for services? If replacing all doctors with midlevels is so easy, why hasn't anyone done it?

What if they're physican administrators? Like Noseworthy? Does he bill for services? Take a wild guess at how many midlevels are paid by Mayo Clinic. They're not replacing housekeepers, mate.

 

[drmwvr]

I love it. A big old house on a postage stamp lot!!!

San Jose, much?