Spine Surgeons Paid Less Than Patients Think

A startling study in the July 1 issue of Spine found that patients think orthopedic spine surgeons should be paid 10 to 20 times more than current Medicare reimbursement rates.

The patients also thought that the actual Medicare reimbursement amount was seven to 10 times too low. 

 

Researchers anonymously surveyed 200 consecutive patients in an outpatient setting. Participants were asked to estimate a physician's reimbursement for an average spine procedure as well as how much a physician ought to be reimbursed. 

 

For lumbar discectomies, which were representative of the results as a whole, the patients thought that surgeons ought to be paid am average of $21,299 and estimated Medicare reimbursed an average of $12,336. An actual Medicare reimbursement for a lumbar discectomy is $971.

 

Once informed, 92.2% of patients surveyed thought that the actual reimbursement was too low.