A recent story in the Wall Street Journal revealed arrangements between CT and MRI scanning centers that make doctors rich, but which may be illegal. In the arrangements, doctors are billed a flat fee for referring patients for scans, but then bill insurers at a much higher rate.
An excerpt from the story: "For an MRI , the company would charge doctors $375. It pegged the average reimbursement in the region at $706.31.After deducting the cost of having the scan interpreted, the paperwork said, the doctors would net $234.77 from each MRI . It showed that a group practice could clear $122,078 a year if it referred two patients a day for scans, or $610,390 annually if it referred 10 a day. For a less-common kind of screening known as PET scans, profits would be higher: $525,200 a year to the doctors if they made two daily referrals, or $2.6 million annually for 10 a day."
Think about that the next time you see a news story or an ad promoting the latest CT, MRI or PET scanner in your community. Follow the money. And then start to question whether all the scans are necessary.
Posted by schwitz at May 12, 2005 08:31 AM | TrackBack